Editor’s note: Amos is a church mouse, unable to use the keyboard shift keys and unschooled in the art of punctuation.
the great ob-word nightmare
last night boss i woke up
with a terrible nightmare
as always i was being
pursued by the hideous
menacing marcellus the cat
with no hesitation at all i
scampered up the broom
to the top of the kitchen
counter darted past the
sink and poised myself
at the edge of the other
side of the counter
muttering a hurried prayer i
dived off the counter s edge
right into the gaping pages
of the world s largest
webster s dictionary
in fact boss i landed in the
middle of the -o-words
ow says me as i fell in a
heap on my crumpled tail
suddenly the ob-letters
came alive and lept off
the page at me boss i
stared in disbelief at the
parade of hostile words
before me
get off of our page says
the word -obnoxious- who
was scowling at me – or
we ll cast you head over
heels into oblivion
you may appear to be
somewhat oblong or
even obpyriform – that
means inversely pear-
shaped boss i found
out later – but i m quite
sure that you don t
belong here on this
page of life
the word -obtrude-
thrust himself at me
and says you re an
obstruction to us
yes go away and leave
us alone says the
word -obstinate-
who continued to yell
at me along with the
word -obstreperous-
who was particularly
vociferous boss
but i come in peace
from the world outside
says me i can help you
and teach you life
beyond the printed page
don t you see
no says -obstinate-
along with -obstruction-
and -obstacle- who mostly
got in the way
we don t want your kind
around here go away and
don t ever come back
another day
boss the whole group was
orchestrated by the word
-obscurant- which means
someone who strives to
prevent the increase and
spread of knowledge
i object says the word
-objection- you words are
becoming obsolete and
oblivious to the real world
listen to the little gray
mouse-word
then the word -objurate-
which means to reproach
or denounce vehemently –
stood up and screamed
at the other words –
your obsession with your
own little page of life
will ultimately lead to a
lifetime of obstipation
and eventually obliteration
and you know what boss
he was right – not only for
words on a page but for
creatures of god s grace
we should never be so
narrow-minded as to
shut out another s
point of view or reject
someone just because
he s not exactly like you
amos
