The Book of B, O + ABC: an Illustrated Verse Alphabet

     A 

B, O + A begets 

'boa.' 

     (This one's 

nosh...? Our new nanny, Ma-

ria José Figue-

roa.)

     B

B, O + B begins 

'bobby.' 

     (This one 

follows the footy in 

Falkirk while answ'ring to 

'Robbie.')

                           

     C 

B, O + C begins 

'bocce.' 

     (Mostly 

mark'd in Milan -- tho' on 

Monday's in March in Ka-

rachi.)  

                                      

 

     D 

B, O + D begins 

'bodice.' 

     (This one's 

Heidi von Freund's. She in-

tends friends to fondle her...

...gratis.)

     E 

B, O + E begins 

'Boeing.' 

     (Discon-

tent with their war profi-

teering proves goodly...and 

growing.)

                   

     F 

B, O + F begins 

'boffin.' 

     (Truth to 

tell, I've been made out a 

maven -- though lately less 

often.)

     G 

B, O + G begins 

'Bogie.' 

     (Spied nigh 

better half Betty Ba-

call and her ham-'n'-Swiss 

hoagie.)

     H 

B, O + H begins 

'boho.' 

     (This one's 

loathe to distinguish his 

goat cheese galette from his 

Ho Ho.)

     I 

B, O + I begins 

'Boise.' 

     (Seems when 

ev'ry tree falls in the 

forest, things really get 

noisy.*)

     *Cf: "If a tree falls in the forest

      and no one is there to hear it, 

      does it make a sound...?" as 

      this relates to ecologically 

      foolhardy forestry practices.

     J 

B, O + J begins 

'Bojan.' 

     (When he 

dunks on my Wizards, I 

deem 'im extremely an-

noyin.')

     K 

B, O + K begins 

'Boko.' 

     (Which will 

lead to 'Haram,' which will 

lead to el multitud 

loco.)

     L 

B, O + L begins 

'Bolger.' 

     (Ray's play'd 

scarecrows 'n' dowager 

aunts; Cary Grant's play'd a 

soldier.*)

     M 

B, O + M begins 

'bombshell.' 

     (Not the 

blonde brand. Who's hurt must have 

more than some salve or some 

balm gel.) 

     N 

B, O + N begins 

'bonkers.' 

     (Sadly, 

citizens section'd so 

squat in asylums in 

Yonkers.)

 

     (Bonus: 

B, O + N begins 

'bonny'...  

     (...much like 

prächtig in German and 

gözel in Azerbai-

jani.) 

     

O 

B, O + O leads to 

'Boojum.' 

     (These Aus-

tralian species in-

sist dudes canoodle 'n' 

smoodge* 'em.)

     *Australian slang meaning 

       to curry favor, to faun.

     P 

B, O + P begins 

'Bopper.' 

     (Though his 

belly bloom'd big, and he 

bopp'd, his career came a

cropper.) 

               

     Q 

B, O + Q begins 

'Boqs.' 

     (In Baum's 

book, Boq's beheld but a

bit; in Greg's* novel, Boq 

rocks!)

     *Gregory McGuire, author of Wicked.

     R 

B, O + R begins 

'Boris.'

     (Counter-

spies Boris counters ac-

count for 'brat' Badenov's 

tsoris.)

     *Russian honorific 'brat' 

translates as brother.

  

     

     S 

B, O + S begins 

'Boston.'

      (Beacon 

Hill be the 'hood where Frost's

toss'd -- and, for three years, gets 

lost in.*)

     *The poet lived there awhile after 

       the death of his wife, Elinor.

    

      T 

B, O + T begins 

'Bottom.'*

     (Who, post

schtuppin' Titania,

charges 'er, "Smoke if ya 

got 'em.")

     *Comic relief both above and in 

       Shakespeare's A Midsummer 

       Night's Dream. 

   U 

B, O + U begins 

'Boulder.'

     (When you're

five thousand feet above

sea level (br-r-r-r), sure it's   

colder.)

     

V 

B, O + V begins 

'bovid.'

     (When 'twas

anthrax afoot 'mongst the

herd, folk prefer'd to risk

COVID.) 

    

      W 

B, O + W...? 

'Bow Wow.'

     (Pictured

here...? One Shad Moss joining

Snoop Dog -- a Gangsta Rap

powwow.)

     

     

     X 

B, O + X begets 

'box lunch.' 

     (This one's

fi;;'d full of food fit for  

fräuleins -- 'tain't no frickin' 

jock's lunch.) 

     Y 

B, O + Y begets 

'Boycott.'

     (In a

film by that name,* the sole 

female lead weren't a part 

Loy** got.)

     *1947's Captain Boycott.

     **In '47, Myrna did land a part in 

        The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer.

        (Pictured below is largely unrelated 

        poisson of interest Myrna L'Oyster.)

    Z 

B, O + Z begets 

'Boz.' 

     (With his 

nom-de-plume 'Boz,' Dickens 

early earns pounding ap-

plause; 

     rhymed with 

French quelque chose, it could

bring this damn thing to a 

close.) 

 

Alpha Betes: The Boffolo

       "The Boffolo" 

  An Image for the Letter B excerpted from 

  "Alpha Betes: Unsung Elites Among the Beasts -- 

  an Illustrated ABC with Rhyming Distichs"

  The Boffolo roam.

  (We so hoped they'd stay home.)

Granny Anna's Anagrampage Rampage Page: an ELASTic et als tour de farce

    "In the 

parish of Sleat, on the island of Skye

     stands a 

column of slate eight...no: nine meters high. 

     In Pi-

raeus, in Greece, stands an andresite stela

     that  

shadows the shrine of the martyr St. Ela.

     Just 

south of Malay lies the Gaspar Selat

     where swarm 

lates -- tho' freshwater pisces they're not,"

     lip syncs

lady o' lit'rature Madame De Staël 

     in a 

breath stale with onions, tobacco and bile.,,

     ...then pro-

ceeds: "Oxford waterwheels, nourish'd by leats,

     grind the 

grain so at least all the neighborhood eats.

     Likewise, 

malts for the Altes beer brewers obtain:

    'May thou 

laste and endure, brewers!' That's the refrain."

    Asks her

priest: "Who's been bit by the vampire Lesta-..."

     "Cease!! D'you 

think an astel overhead spares you...? Nah!"

     warns De 

Staël. "You need garlic to borrow or steal.

     ' Salte that

bloodsucker!'...? Nope! Garlic's still the ideal."

     "From a

tsela' of Adam God fashions an Eve.

     An es-

tal houses Christ -- if His book you believe,"

     drones De 

Staël as, invested in bean greens and teals,

     in her

Model X Tesla down East L she wheels.

     These -- her

quotes -- via lyrics from E'Last arrive.

     That Ko-

rean boy band et als help 'em survive.

     (If you

covet more nonsense, more poppycock tales,

     consult

<PlAysWEllWithLetTerS.com> for details.)

*   *   *   *   *

     Materials and minimal definitions; rhymes are

     consistent with pronunciation guides consulted online. 

ST. ELA: canonized Turkish woman   

STEAL: pilfer  

STALE: not fresh   

SLATE: metaphoric rock   

SLEAT: parish on island of Skye    

STAËL: Anne Louise Germaine French Revolution woman of letters     

STELA: upright stone column   

SALTE: imperative 'to salt'   

SELAT: Indonesian strait   

TEALS: several blue hues     

TALES: stories   

TESLA: electric auto     

TSELA': Hebrew for 'rib'   

ET ALS: several expressions of 'and others' 

E'LAST: Korean boy band   

ESTAL: Old French for stall or stable  

EAST L: east portion of alphabetized street   

ALTES: style of lager from Detroit       

ASTEL: arch of boards above miners' heads in shaft    

LEAST: smallest amount     

LATES: genus of freshwater perch    
LASTE: obsolete 'last' or imperative "Endure!"   

LEATS: several trenches leading to British waterwheels   

LESTA-...: reference to certain vampire (interrupted)   

Anagrampage: Rats 'n' Tsar, Arts 'n' Star

“Who’ll Russia rid of rampant rats,” cried Yaroslav the First. 
“The Moskva’s not the Weser,” sigh'd his barons to their Tsar. 

“The German town of Hamelin with vermin nearly burst -- 

until they hired a piper, an extermination star,

which Roy-G-Biv-garb'd flautist plied his liquidation arts. 

But though a scourge of pests he purged, he pinch'd his patrons' hearts."

Anagrampage: East 'n' Teas, Eats 'n' Seat

Cathay lies east of Camden Town.
Sweet teas they pour lack cream or milk.
The Huangdi there eats bird's nest soup
and governs from a seat of silk.

Birthday

On Ozzy Bartholomew's die natali,
in lieu of ice cream, Becca's serving ice lolly.
If rain threatens, Jason will issue a brolly.
But sunshine's foretold, so to miss would be folly.

Anagrampage: Dribs 'n' Drabs, Bards 'n' Birds

"In dribs and drabs do raindrops fall
to oceans far-flung swell." (Fine words.)
Ad-libs of bards in strains enthrall.
(They're swell when sung as well by birds.) 

Anagrampage: Ocean Canoe

Who'd cruise the ocean blue (would you...?)
could use a crew...and a BIG canoe.

  

More Locales Loca

Fifi LeFleur, known as "Vertigo Faye"
     (step-

daughter by marriage to Ferde Grofé),
     de-

spite the affliction that prompted her name,
     notes 

life atop pillars will garner her fame:

     "So: 

Sim'on Stylites, for thirty-odd years, 

     made a 

pedestal home -- to the cheers of his peers.
     More sty-

lites would follow; all welcom'd the test.
     Thus the 

'polesters' I'll meet...? 10s! (The best never rest!)" 

*   *   *   *   *

     "Just sup-

pose I were chosen Commander-in-chief

     of the 

shed at the head of this barrier reef,"

     fancies 

Perry de Paul, adding, "If so install'd,

     I'll be 

more than fired up; I'll be wholly enthrall'd..."

     "...yes, and 

soak'd to the foreskin, brined up to the eyes,"

     inter-

jects Perry's kin, "as all seven seas rise."

     "Fret ye 

not!" notes de Paul. "My appointment's no whim.

     Plus, each 

atoll inhabitant knows how to swim."

World Egg Tree

     Countless 

kalpas ago, before endless beginnings,

     be-

fore Zou Yan pioneer'd yangings 'n' yinings, 

     be-

fore antique Adams engaged early Eves,

     a great 

tree stood, festoon'd with gajillions of leaves.

     A tree-

mendous tree -- tall, tippee-top to taproot --

     ev'ry 

Fall Eggdrasil bore unusual fruit.

     Its 

trunk would sprout limbs while each limb would sprout branches.

     Each 

branch would sprout twigs in a burst of carte' blanches.

     Each 

twig would sprout leaves, whence was spott'd to drop,

     as each 

season roll'd 'round, a phenomenal crop:

     extra-

ordin'ry kernals encased in white shells.

     (What e-

merges when shells crack...? My doggerel tells.)

     What's this 

tree's hautest harvest...? Which fruitage had legs...?

     None more

primo than cream o' the crop Malcolm Eggs.

     Eggs would

teach; Eggs would preach; Eggs would boldly beseech.

     Eggs -- by

any means necess'ry -- freedom would reach.

     (a work in progress) 

Little Amal (For OCB)

Little Amal, Little Amal.

She's plainly a person; 

she's more than a doll,
and tho' her world and my world 

seem'd oceans apart,
I have since touch'd her hand 

and she's since touch'd my heart.