Silent Letters

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Here are a number of poems about silent letters. Three of them are from The Poetry Chest; the others are new.

Silent Letters

We’re the Silent Bs

We’re the silent bs.
We can make you numb.
We can stop your chatter
By making you dumb.

We can help clean up
By picking up crumbs.
We can show we approve
By sticking up thumbs.

We can make a sheep
Give birth to a lamb.
We can hold up a door
With a wooden jamb.

We can find a plumber,
Plumb the depths of seas.
We can make you succumb.
We’re the silent bs.

 

Silent Gees

The silent gees are coming,
They may be gnearing you.
The gnarled gnome, the gnashing gnat
And the gnasty, gnawing gnu.

The silent gees are coming.
There’s gnot much you can do,
Except to feed them gnocchi
And gnotify the zoo.

 

Sir K

I am a silent k.
Without me
Someone might nick your knickers
Or nap in your knapsack.
You need me to be able to knead
To knock or to kneel.
I can help you
To knuckle down to knitting.
I have the knack.
Sir K, that’s me –
A knowledgeable knight.

 

The Silent Ws

Here come the silent ws,
Writhing and wriggling along,
Wreaking havoc with your spelling –
If you write wright, that’s wrong!

As you wrestle with wrinkle and wreck,
With wrapper, wrench, wretched and wrist,
Watch out for the silent ws,
They’re wrathful if ever they’re missed.

 

When you whistle at a thistle

When you whistle at a thistle
You don’t hear me
That’s because I’m a silent T.
In bustle and in hustle
In wrestle and in rustle
You have to listen carefully
In castle and in hustle
In gristle and in bristle
I am there, the silent T.

 

Here come the Silent Ns

 

Here come the silent Ns
In autumn, singing hymns.
As they march in a column,
Do not condemn them
For looking so solemn.

 

The Silent Hs

We are the honest Hs
You will find us in each hour.
We present Rhona with rhinestones
And give heirlooms to heirs
We play rhapsodies on Rhodes
Grow rhubarb on the Rhine
And look after rhinos.
We’ve got rhythm
We can find you a rhyme.
We are the honest Hs.

 

The Silent M

I’m the silent m in mnemonic.
Remember me.

Copyright C John Foster 2014

The Flim Flams

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The Flim Flams wear jimjams

As they dance down the street,

Throwing confetti at people they meet.

Smiling beguilingly, singing their song:

‘Don’t worry, why hurry? Don’t scurry along.

Come prance with us, dance with us, join in the fun.

Throw your cares away, come and play, lie in the sun.

Set yourself free, float in the sea, dig in the sand.

Go with the flow, join in the show, give us your hand

Forget all your troubles, just put them aside.

Jump on our roundabout, come for a ride.

The Flim Flams wear jimjams

As they dance down the street,

Throwing confetti at people they meet.

 

©John Foster (Copyright 2013)