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Z-nucopia

by Chris Sorrenti


this poem isn't about anything important
just don't have one in my repertoire
starting with the letter Z
though suppose I should say something of relevance
to give the piece legitima-zy

and so to start off
did you know Britain and the Commonwealth
pronounce Z as 'zed'
while Americans keep it closer to the preceding alphabet
by saying simply 'zee'

ever notice how Z is shaped like a zigzag?
so if placed one on top of another in a vertical column
would create a steady movement in a slanted back and forth
not unlike an Allied convoy in World War II
attempting to elude Na-zi submarines

can you imagine if there was no Z in the word
then zigzag would just be 'igag'
now that doesn't sound right to me
as I'm sure it doesn't to you

a lot of fun words start with the letter Z
you won't find anywhere else in the dictionary
like zany and zap, zippy, zombie and Zowie
you can thank David Bowie for that last one

of course
more practical minded ones as well
zone and zenith, zinc, zodiac and zygot
dare we forget in this exercise of enlightenment
the highly touted Zen

and for a member of the alphabet forced to trail all the rest
ama-zing how it does get around
as in Zaire and Zambia, New Zealand and Zanzibar
Zimbabwe and Zululand

even more neat words have Z's locked in the middle of them
such as dizzy and dazzle, frizzy and frazzled
not to mention all those gals named Lizzy

but my favorite slice of Z vocabulary
is that which sports horses in striped pajamas
I'm sure by now you’ve guessed the word
though if you’re still stumped after reading this
z-imply go to a zoo

not bad eh? for a piece covering just one letter
and to think when I started
I had nothing z-ignificant to say
just hope this poem didn’t leave you wanting only
to catch some ZZZs

© 2002
Revised © 2018


Zebras at Kitchener, Ontario Park Safari by Chris Sorrenti (Ottawa, Canada) 1989 photo zebrasRED.jpg

 photo ZebrasbyDawnDavidson2010RED4050.jpg

Photo © 1989 by author
Painting based on photo © 2010 Dawn Davidson

1,960 hits as of April 2024

01/18/2007

Posted on 01/18/2007
Copyright © 2024 Chris Sorrenti

Member Comments on this Poem
Posted by Christel Crews on 01/18/07 at 06:03 PM

what a fun and clever piece! you crack me up! i love the letter -z- and thanks to you, i'll be thinking in terms of dr. seus today "dizzy, dazzle, fizzy, fazzle" hehehehe

Posted by Kathleen Wilson on 01/18/07 at 06:38 PM

Charmingly written with an easy intimate syle as in a good natured teasing morning coffee shop visit with you--with some thing (or nothing?) in mind... hee hee and in China when we were there-- we walked the zig-zag bridges for protection and good luck, and they had them in sidewalk tiles too...I'll just think of your poem as a zig-zag bridge!

Posted by Gregory O'Neill on 01/18/07 at 07:42 PM

I respond to this bit of zeitgeist enthusiastically...ZOUNDS!

Posted by Genevieve Sturrock on 01/18/07 at 10:09 PM

Zowie...I hope you had much fun writing this as I did reading it. It kinda reminds me of a flippant school assignment some smart-a** kid once wrote contrasting the letters A and B....

Posted by Kristina Woodhill on 01/19/07 at 02:29 AM

zimply zany! Thanks for this!

Posted by Bruce W Niedt on 01/19/07 at 06:12 AM

Zesty, zealous mu-zing on our last letter. Now ex-cuze me while I zip out for a pizza - with lot-za mozzarella.... d;-)

Posted by Kate Demeree on 01/19/07 at 07:09 PM

*giggle*... full of pizzaz... and a fun read!

Posted by Maureen Glaude on 01/20/07 at 10:06 PM

and if you speak Castilian or Latin-American Spanish you'll have two different ways to pronounce the "Z". Not to mention Zorro could fit perfectly in here. Zany fun poem, Chris.

Posted by Alisa Js on 01/22/07 at 06:06 AM

lol... you are quite the talented one.. aloha to you and yours.. great images.. ;-)

Posted by Gabriel Ricard on 01/22/07 at 03:54 PM

When it comes to style and imagery, you have very, very few equals here, man.

Posted by Elizabeth Shaw on 01/27/07 at 10:08 PM

this is really cute. thanks

Posted by Quentin S Clingerman on 02/22/07 at 03:28 PM

Just wonderful fun with letters and words! Gave me a big smile! The picture added to the zelebration!

Posted by Alison McKenzie on 04/08/07 at 04:51 PM

This is the cutest poem I've ever read. Thank you for bringing it to life!!!

Posted by Glenn Currier on 10/09/09 at 09:12 PM

You punctuated my lethazic Friday afternoon with a zolt of humor and made me literally laugh out loud... well maybe just ziggle. Thnkz for a funzy zigzag trip. You are z man!

Posted by Andrea Colton on 01/30/11 at 05:56 AM

Ah! This is cool and clever and just really fun to read. Oh, and an awesome representation on how to be a charming smart a-zz. :P Stuff like this emphasizes to me how little I know about writing and how far I still have to go. Looking forward to reading more of your work and learning in the process. Thanks!

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