Collin Colaizzi

8

March 21, 2020

Do you object to the subject matter 
And wish I’d talk about something else
Besides myself and these kooky little 
Characters you have no attachment to? 

Pick up a different book then. 
It feels nice to say aloud, imagine 
The scenario where the words could be 
Altered. But who are we kidding? The walls come tumbling down. 

Good instincts like Tootsie. 
But that’ll only get you so far. 
Look at the cool pattern the sun streaming
Through the window makes on the hardwood.

He has a secret he’ll never tell
Anybody in the whole world. The 
Secret is the pen’s run dry. The 
Well, it's not that deep.

Scratch, scratch. Alter-ego! 
You never learned how to properly 
Employ hyphens and you realize 
There are a lot of lines about grammar. 

Employ. English teachers hate the
Word employ, a terrible verb but
It has its applications. Its
Cousin deploy is also a nice word. 

This meaningless conversation he 
Has with himself about words, just 
Words, indentured little servants. Put on 
A wing-tipped helmet and go right off the deep-end. 

Scratch, scratch. Just trying to keep 
The morale high by employing 
Onomatopoeia. That is correct! 
An -o-e-i-a. Never second guess yourself little man. 

Yeah, your cock is small but you know
How to spell! 
That’s a powerful thing, little boy. 
There’s more to life than cock. Just 

Look at Lew Alcindor and the dog walking 
By with the stubby legs. They know
How to use their words. Don’t indulge 
Yourself in fantasies of the girl’s locker room

When suppression is just a 
Thick thesaurus away. Learn all the 
Words and how to best employ them 
And it’ll make your papers much worse. 

Scarcity, that’s the key. And that’s 
The problem with the way they teach
Writing in the early grades. Always 
Search for the better word when 

The best words are the common words, 
The blue-collar words. Strip it back little 
James, my son. In due time you too
Will have crippling depression but your volumes will soar. 

Take your little member and run home now, 
Don’t stop to shoot hoops with the other boys,
And No! Those videos on Daddy’s Macbook 
Aren’t for you, silly.

Step into the laboratory, little Jamie. 
There’s a very specific way to pronounce 
Laboratory but there’s no time to get into it
Now. With your words you can create the ultimate monster.

Mom’s mozzarella sticks are waiting but much
Like the pronunciation, the after-school snack can wait.
Experiment, you mad scientist you. Little Jamie, my son,
Use your words. 

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