The subtleties of Language and Life are examined..
The legato of language and lingo,
The dance of diction and dialect --
Have you ever considered the difference
A little letter or two can effect?
Texture of tense,
Savor of sense,
The nuance in a sentence --
What's really the difference?
....
OAR
ORE
You will need your oar
To reach the shore
To search for the ore.
JIM
GEM
GYM
Jim found a gem at the gym.
PRINCIPAL
PRINCIPLE
The principal lives by principle.
TO
TOO
TWO
Those two went to dinner and a movie too.
FLOWER
FLOUR
She ate a flower
Made out of flour.
ONE
WON
Have you heard the one
'Bout the loser who never won?
DUCK
DUCK
You better duck when someone throws a rubber duck.
PIC
PICK
PICKED
I picked a pic of a pick.
TIME
THYME
It was time to add the thyme.
LIAR
LYRE
He's a liar if he claims he plays the lyre.
SIGN
SING
There's a sign that she likes to sing.
Just look for the n before the g.
DOC
DOC
DOCK
According to the doc,
You can find the doc
Down by the dock.
FORK
FORK
The road had a fork.
There I found a fork.
SPOON
SPOON
He liked his spoon.
She liked to spoon.
QUIET
QUIT
It's good to be quite
But please tread light,
For if you take away the e
And do away with it,
You'll end up with quit.
HOMINY
HOMILY
It's not appropriate to eat hominy
While the reverend gives the homily.
HYMN
HIM
We sang a hymn about HIM.
PREACHED
TAUGHT
The preacher preached
And the teacher taught.
But why hasn't the teacher "teached"
Or the preacher "praught"?
LETTER
LETTER
Have you ever written a letter
Without a single letter?
****
If the reality of language
Rests upon variables so slight,
What does this tell us
'Bout the whole of Life?
THE SCRAMBLED ANNA GRAHAM
A girl named Anna Graham who loves anagrams?
That spells fun!
I am Anna Graham,
Anna Graham I am --
With letters and words
I like to play around.
From here to there,
From there to here,
Hidden words
Are everywhere.
I eat scrambled eggs,
I see scrambled jets,
But what's even better
Is to scramble letters.
I've been found
To nag a ram --
No need to frown,
To happen it's bound
When I switch around
The parts of anagram.
Am I the only one
Who lets out a "wow"
When own becomes won
And then won becomes now?
Do you understand
How a gentleman
Becomes an elegant man?
By the switcheroo ruse
Of the versatile anagram.
I love to see a butterfly
Flutter-by my eye;
This is what I get
When letters are switched
Ever so slight.
I went to the cinema
To catch a nice flick,
There I met an iceman
And he held an ice pick;
This sorta thing happens
When letters get switched.
My parents are eternal fans
Of this gyrating rocker-man
(I think my dad called him Elvis
Right before he cracked his pelvis
From doing his darndest
To cut a jig) --
I thought this "king" was history,
Then I hear a crazy conspiracy:
Something interesting is found
When his name becomes an anagram,
And that something is...
Elvis Lives!
I visited my sis at college,
On her I dropped some knowledge:
"This place is a disgrace!
It could really use a broom."
But with shock on her face,
My sissy to me did say:
"Anna Graham! Anna Graham!
Of all people around,
You should know better --
I can't help that the letters
In dormitory turn into
Dirty room...so boom!"
In Sunday School I was told
A story that's really kinda old
About a kid named David
And a giant named Goliath
Who lived in a time so long ago;
The big fella got leveled
(So the tale goes)
By this kid David
And a lone stone;
What I later found out
(It made me want to shout) :
If I rearrange the "liath"
And mess around with "Go,"
What do I get?
This lesson and this message...
HIT GOAL!
Well what do ya know?
Oh what new things can be found
When you use this thing the anagram
To scramble letters all around!
Yours truly,
Anna Graham
SUPER B!
Between boroughs and 'burbs, behold this blurb 'bout the Letter B --
it's truly superB!
Big Benny Bulger bought big beefy bulky burgers at bustling Burger Box.
Bill Bing Brock built buildings between blocks by building with blocks.
Brookborough's bungling burglar broke into backs of burgundy bungalows.
But between burglaries the bandit boogie-bebopped by bluegrass banjo.
Blake burnt Betsy's brittle breakfast-bacon bit by blackened bite.
But Blake bounced back by baking brilliant blueberry bagels b-right.
Biscuits bathed in butter bust buttons by bulging bellies big.
But business blesses bank books of budgeting billionaire bigwigs.
By the by, Billy B. Bobbins bought bunches of bags of buns.
But Brother Bobbins bestowed the bread on a beggin' bum.
Boy's bouncy blue ball buoyantly bounced by bedrooms and backdoors.
Busy babies in bumper-buggies babble and burp in Bay Bea's Bookstore.
Bump! Boo! A boogie-bogey buzzes by Bella Baker's Barbie bed.
Besides Bella's brother Bobby bustled through briars but bled.
Blind black bats badly bullied and bedeviled boys bearing backpacks.
But beautiful butterflies breezed by bringing boys blessed bliss back.
There's a lot in POP...
My Pop hates pop
But likes pop.
Pop! The pop popped
With a pop.
The cop drank pop
While listening to pop
With his Pop.
My Pop knew a cop
Named Pop
Who liked to drink pop
And listen to pop.
Then one day he stopped
Because the pop
Almost caused him to pop.
The pop will make you bop.
The pop will make your ears pop
And your head bop
Until your Pop makes it stop.
Do you bop to pop?
The pop popped,
Then it flopped
And finally it stopped.
You will flop
Without the pop.
Have you ever had
A glop of pop?
And if you had
A glop of pop,
Would you want
It to stop?
Pop makes me hop
Until I stop.
Would you hop for pop?
When would you stop?
Have you ever hopped
At a pop-hop
Until you hopped
Right out of your socks?
And when you stopped,
Did you drink some pop?
If you spill the pop,
You will need to mop.
How can you mop
While drinking pop?
You can hop to pop
Until it's time to stop.
But if you hop to pop
While drinking pop,
You will need to stop
Or you'll need to mop.
Is it time to shop for pop?
Would you hop and stop
At the pop-shop
To shop for pop?
Pop stopped at the pop-shop
To shop for pop.
Pop popped the top
Of the bottle of pop.
If the pop drops
With a pop,
You will need to sop
The pop with a mop.
Who stops at a hilltop coffee shop
With his laptop
And orders pop?
"That pop really makes the pop pop!,"
Said Pop.
"Why do you sop on the countertop?,"
Asked Pop.
"I sop because I dropped
Pop on the countertop,"
Said I to Pop.
"If you don't hop
To the sop of the pop
On the countertop,"
Replied Pop,
"You will soon need a mop."
Poppy popped by
And brought Poppie and I
A lot of pop
Which we drank
While jammin' to pop
Until we almost popped.
You are about to enter an alternate dimension.
It is a place of circular reality.
Welcome to THE O ZONE..
Lend me yOur attentiOn and prestO!
I take yOu tO anOther dimensiOn -- maestrO!
Strike up the band, give us a crescendO
And make it fittingly eerie and weirdO.
O! BefOre we gO,
One thing tO knOw:
In this alternate wOrld,
The Only reality allOwed
Must have an ending
With that circular vOwel...
*
Greetings have new meaning --
"O, O, O!"
Answers are backwards --
"yakO"
cOnverse in reverse --
lOcO lingO
Gaze at the bluish blaze --
indigO infernO
Bad weather takes fOrever --
slO-mO tOrnadO
PrOpOrtiOns are distOrted --
jumbO ratiO
Trees grOw in threes --
envirO triO
tOxins aren't OptiOns --
nO tObaccO Or tacO
Exercise is Only visualized --
bizarrO cardiO
hOspitals made Of crystals --
ecO placebO
bOOgie steppin' is a weapOn --
discO judO
ChOirs have pOwers --
altO superherO
Traffic is static --
zerO tempO
Office blOcks interlOck --
legO metrO
A minOtaur is a restaurateur --
beastO bistrO
A liOn is a business titan --
leO the ceO
E.T.s are DJs --
ufO radiO
*
If yOu feel yOurself missing
The wOrld yOu've always knOwn,
nO need fOr stressing --
yOu are nOw exiting
The O zOne.
THE SCRAMBLED ANNA GRAHAM
A girl named Anna Graham who loves anagrams?
That spells fun!
I am Anna Graham,
Anna Graham I am --
With letters and words
I like to play around.
From here to there,
From there to here,
Hidden words
Are everywhere.
I eat scrambled eggs,
I see scrambled jets,
But what's even better
Is to scramble letters.
I've been found
To nag a ram --
No need to frown,
To happen it's bound
When I switch around
The parts of anagram.
Am I the only one
Who lets out a "wow"
When own becomes won
And then won becomes now?
Do you understand
How a gentleman
Becomes an elegant man?
By the switcheroo ruse
Of the versatile anagram.
I love to see a butterfly
Flutter-by my eye;
This is what I get
When letters are switched
Ever so slight.
I went to the cinema
To catch a nice flick,
There I met an iceman
And he held an ice pick;
This sorta thing happens
When letters get switched.
My parents are eternal fans
Of this gyrating rocker-man
(I think my dad called him Elvis
Right before he cracked his pelvis
From doing his darndest
To cut a jig) --
I thought this "king" was history,
Then I hear a crazy conspiracy:
Something interesting is found
When his name becomes an anagram,
And that something is...
Elvis Lives!
I visited my sis at college,
On her I dropped some knowledge:
"This place is a disgrace!
It could really use a broom."
But with shock on her face,
My sissy to me did say:
"Anna Graham! Anna Graham!
Of all people around,
You should know better --
I can't help that the letters
In dormitory turn into
Dirty room...so boom!"
In Sunday School I was told
A story that's really kinda old
About a kid named David
And a giant named Goliath
Who lived in a time so long ago;
The big fella got leveled
(So the tale goes)
By this kid David
And a lone stone;
What I later found out
(It made me want to shout) :
If I rearrange the "liath"
And mess around with "Go,"
What do I get?
This lesson and this message...
HIT GOAL!
Well what do ya know?
Oh what new things can be found
When you use this thing the anagram
To scramble letters all around!
Yours truly,
Anna Graham
SUPER B!
Between boroughs and 'burbs, behold this blurb 'bout the Letter B --
it's truly superB!
Big Benny Bulger bought big beefy bulky burgers at bustling Burger Box.
Bill Bing Brock built buildings between blocks by building with blocks.
Brookborough's bungling burglar broke into backs of burgundy bungalows.
But between burglaries the bandit boogie-bebopped by bluegrass banjo.
Blake burnt Betsy's brittle breakfast-bacon bit by blackened bite.
But Blake bounced back by baking brilliant blueberry bagels b-right.
Biscuits bathed in butter bust buttons by bulging bellies big.
But business blesses bank books of budgeting billionaire bigwigs.
By the by, Billy B. Bobbins bought bunches of bags of buns.
But Brother Bobbins bestowed the bread on a beggin' bum.
Boy's bouncy blue ball buoyantly bounced by bedrooms and backdoors.
Busy babies in bumper-buggies babble and burp in Bay Bea's Bookstore.
Bump! Boo! A boogie-bogey buzzes by Bella Baker's Barbie bed.
Besides Bella's brother Bobby bustled through briars but bled.
Blind black bats badly bullied and bedeviled boys bearing backpacks.
But beautiful butterflies breezed by bringing boys blessed bliss back.
There's a lot in POP...
My Pop hates pop
But likes pop.
Pop! The pop popped
With a pop.
The cop drank pop
While listening to pop
With his Pop.
My Pop knew a cop
Named Pop
Who liked to drink pop
And listen to pop.
Then one day he stopped
Because the pop
Almost caused him to pop.
The pop will make you bop.
The pop will make your ears pop
And your head bop
Until your Pop makes it stop.
Do you bop to pop?
The pop popped,
Then it flopped
And finally it stopped.
You will flop
Without the pop.
Have you ever had
A glop of pop?
And if you had
A glop of pop,
Would you want
It to stop?
Pop makes me hop
Until I stop.
Would you hop for pop?
When would you stop?
Have you ever hopped
At a pop-hop
Until you hopped
Right out of your socks?
And when you stopped,
Did you drink some pop?
If you spill the pop,
You will need to mop.
How can you mop
While drinking pop?
You can hop to pop
Until it's time to stop.
But if you hop to pop
While drinking pop,
You will need to stop
Or you'll need to mop.
Is it time to shop for pop?
Would you hop and stop
At the pop-shop
To shop for pop?
Pop stopped at the pop-shop
To shop for pop.
Pop popped the top
Of the bottle of pop.
If the pop drops
With a pop,
You will need to sop
The pop with a mop.
Who stops at a hilltop coffee shop
With his laptop
And orders pop?
"That pop really makes the pop pop!,"
Said Pop.
"Why do you sop on the countertop?,"
Asked Pop.
"I sop because I dropped
Pop on the countertop,"
Said I to Pop.
"If you don't hop
To the sop of the pop
On the countertop,"
Replied Pop,
"You will soon need a mop."
Poppy popped by
And brought Poppie and I
A lot of pop
Which we drank
While jammin' to pop
Until we almost popped.
You are about to enter an alternate dimension.
It is a place of circular reality.
Welcome to THE O ZONE..
Lend me yOur attentiOn and prestO!
I take yOu tO anOther dimensiOn -- maestrO!
Strike up the band, give us a crescendO
And make it fittingly eerie and weirdO.
O! BefOre we gO,
One thing tO knOw:
In this alternate wOrld,
The Only reality allOwed
Must have an ending
With that circular vOwel...
*
Greetings have new meaning --
"O, O, O!"
Answers are backwards --
"yakO"
cOnverse in reverse --
lOcO lingO
Gaze at the bluish blaze --
indigO infernO
Bad weather takes fOrever --
slO-mO tOrnadO
PrOpOrtiOns are distOrted --
jumbO ratiO
Trees grOw in threes --
envirO triO
tOxins aren't OptiOns --
nO tObaccO Or tacO
Exercise is Only visualized --
bizarrO cardiO
hOspitals made Of crystals --
ecO placebO
bOOgie steppin' is a weapOn --
discO judO
ChOirs have pOwers --
altO superherO
Traffic is static --
zerO tempO
Office blOcks interlOck --
legO metrO
A minOtaur is a restaurateur --
beastO bistrO
A liOn is a business titan --
leO the ceO
E.T.s are DJs --
ufO radiO
*
If yOu feel yOurself missing
The wOrld yOu've always knOwn,
nO need fOr stressing --
yOu are nOw exiting
The O zOne.
© Matt Decker
