Add a Letter, Find Another Word
(a word-finder's alphabet)
by
John Foster
When does the letter A create an opening?
When it turns jar into ajar.
Why is the letter B hot?
Because it turns oil into boil.
Why is the letter C skilful?
Because it turns raft into craft.
When is the letter D artistic?
When it turns raw into draw.
When is the letter E friendly?
When it turns mat into mate.
When does the letter F become airborne?
When it turns light into flight.
Why is the letter G deadly?
Because it turns rave into grave.
When does the letter H cry out?
When it turns owl into howl.
Why is the letter I angry?
Because it turns rate into irate.
When does the letter J sound harsh?
When it turns angle into jangle.
Why is the letter K good at tying?
Because it turns not into knot.
Why is the letter L good at making chains?
Because it turns inks into links.
Why is letter M good at multiplying?
Because it turns any into many.
Why is the letter N good at subtracting?
Because it turns one into none.
Why is the letter O good at providing access?
Because it turns pen into open.
Why is the letter P polite?
Because it turns lease into please.
Why is the letter Q quite sickening?
Because it helps to turn easy into queasy.
When is the letter R careless?
When it turns ash into rash.
Why is the letter S good at digging?
Because it turns hovel into shovel.
When does the letter T make a down-and –out?
When it turns ramp into tramp.
When does the letter U create a custom?
When it turns sage into usage.
Why is the letter V wicked?
Because it turns ice into vice.
When does the letter W create a turnaround?
When it turns heel into wheel.
When does the letter X reveal the inside story?
When it turns ray into X-ray.
When does the letter Y create longing?
When it turns earn into yearn.
Why is the letter Z bizarre?
Because it turns any into zany.
©John Foster. All rights reserved.
Dear editors who read GottaBook - would you please contact
John Foster and inquire about turning the above poem into a picture book? It is very, very clever and even I, the non-visual guy, can see wonderful illustration potential. Thank you.
Word play is a recurring joy in John Foster's poetry, as is what I'd best describe as "smarts." (Note: I was going to make some reference to a letter S and turning marts into smarts, but geez... it's hard to do what he has done up above in a coherent way!). Head on out to
read a couple poems at his site and while you're there, listen to him reading/performing a few poems, too. If you choose to attempt your own performance of
Sean Short's Short Shorts, don't blame me if you have to ice your tongue after....
Besides being a wordsmith in his own right, John Foster also puts together fantastic anthologies, an art in and of itself. This means y'all have a lot of options when you leave this post... but in the meantime, I hope you share my happiness at having him here today as part of 30 Poets/30 Days.
Yesterday,
G. Neri brought us the
June Bug Bash. Tomorrow...
Lesléa Newman with
Teen Angels. For more on 30 Poets/30 Days and ways to follow along,
please click here.
I wanted to mention all the various honors Naomi Shihab Nye has received (multiple Pushcart Prizes, being a Guggenheim Fellow, the 2008 Cybil for Poetry for her book Honeybee) but on some level, I always wonder if that's really necessary... particularly after you've just read Driving Back. I mean... you don't really care about the awards, do you? You just read and that's enough. 
I love the way Driving Back conveys so much heart and truth in just 11 words. It's a lesson I constantly have to relearn - brevity, honesty, simplicity, and the right words in the right order are the keys. Luckily, when I need a refresher, I can just turn to the poetry and prose of Naomi Shihab Nye to see all those elements at their best. And whether she's writing for adults or children or novels or standalone poems, she will make you think and feel... which is one reason why I'm so thrilled to have her here today to finish up this year's 30 Poets/30 Days. 
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