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Friday, November 22, 2019

Measures For Mayella: a Relentless ABC

     Fret no more, Mayella. you'll no longer yell alone.

Mayella yells: "I got somethin' to say."

Ev'ry letter reiterates, each in its way.

Avast! A's an admiral. Anchors aweigh!
All at sea (all of three), A's got somethin' to say. 

B's a Blue-footed booby b’yond Botany Bay.
B's a Baja-bred bird and's got somethin' to say.

C’s a coy cove callin' China 'Cathay.'
Too much 'tude for one dude C's got somethin' to say.

D's a dressmaker's dummy dubb'd Daphne de Laye.
With her shins full of pins, D's got somethin' to say. 

E edits Edna St. Vincent Millay.
Both be erudite eggheads with something to say. 

F's fat filling farm-foster'd flounder filet.
Those omega-3s got at leas' somethin' to say.

G's Gorey's goatee, gone gunmetal grey.
Ain't G's stash -- like G's Gashlys -- got somethin' to say...?

H holds no Hallowmas haunting hearsay.
Even aspirate letters got somethin' to say.

I…? Is it Ireland's interr’d IRA…?
Sure'n' begorr.' (And, o' co'r, I's got somethin' to say.) 

Js…? Jewish janitors ‘jackin' José.
No ole!s, only vey!s. Js got somethin' to say.

K is a kaffir kid -- KKK prey.
Nearly kill'd, but not still'd, K's got somethin' to say.

L's a lyric 'bout love long lost. Last line…? "Lul-lay."
Its prose primed (meter'd, rhymed), L's got somethin' to say.

M's the Musee's "Mid-morning..." by Manet. (Monet...?)
Though mixed "-net"s it betrays, M's got somethin' to say. 

N's a new-minted nickel. Nets nada…? No way!
Helps pay rents, do five cents! N's got somethin' to say.

O's one old-fashion'd ointment call’d “Oil of 'Ole!'”
Masquillage for the Mses. O...? Somethin' to say. 

P's the piss'd-off pied piper poor peons must pay.
Of two minds (and two hues), P's got somethin' to say.

Q's Quixote the quidnunc's inquisitive way.
Señor Panza’d agree: Q's got somethin' to say.

R's the researcher Roentgen. (Who re-named his ray…?) 
Though still wary, this Jerry’s got somethin' to say.

S...? The solit'ry Sphinx. (Speaks with Caesars, Shaw’d say.) 
I believe George Bernard: S has somethin' to say.

T's a Tetsubin teapot: there’s two on Tante’s tray.
Now they sleep. Soon they'll steep. T'll have somethin' to say. 

U's the undead. They're ugly; they're us. USA!
They’re alive! (Ain't no jive: U's got somethin' to say.)

V's a woid. The woid's ‘void.' (For ‘avoid,’ add an ‘a.’)
No, a void ain't devoid. V's got somethin' to say. 

W's a Wizard. Will Wall walk away…?
Well he may. Withal, W's got somethin' to say.

X is (like) 'xebec.' (One 'X' though no 'K.')
Like (like) words with no K, X has somethin' to say.

Y's a Yokkaichi yacht y'all call'd 'yawl' yesterday.
Y's, tomorrow, call'd 'tug.' Y'll have somethin' to say.  

Z's a zorse. Zebu…? Zebra…? Zorilla…? Well, may-
be. But they, mostly mum, still got somethin' to say. 

Ev'ry letter from A, through a runic array,
down to Zed: the whole spread has got somethin' to say.

A Southern Strategy

Y’all’s paper smothers rocks…?
Y’all asphyxiate y’all’s brother.
Y’all’s rocks dismantle scissors…?
Y’all cry, “Boulders be my druther.”
Y’all’s scissors sever paper…?
Y’all’s one newsprint-piercin’ mother.
But…unless y’all’d suffer mutual destruction,
yaw no futher!

Losts & Founds: An ABC

     The Lost Ark Careless Hebrews lost the Ark  but Jones, a gentile, found it --  along with half a dozen nasty  Nazis runnin' 'ro...