Richard Wilbur - The Disappearing Alphabet

---

THE
DISAPPEARING
ALPHABET richard wilbur illustrated by
david diaz voyager books
harcourt, inc.
orlando austin new york san diego london Text copyright 1998 by Richard Wilbur
Illustrations copyright 1998 by David Diaz All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any
information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be
submitted online at www.harcourt.com/contact or mailed to the following address:
Permissions Department, Harcourt, Inc., 6277 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, Florida 32887-6777. www.HarcourtBooks.com Text copyright 1997 by Richard Wilbur, as first published in The Atlantic Monthly First Voyager Books edition 2001
Voyager Books is a trademark of Harcourt, Inc., registered in the
United States of America and/or other jurisdictions. Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows:
Wilbur, Richard, 1921
The disappearing alphabet/Richard Wilbur; illustrated by David Diaz.
p. cm.
Summary: A collection of twenty-six short poems pondering what the
world would be like if any letters of the alphabet should disappear.
1.

English languageAlphabetJuvenile poetry. 2. Children's poetry, American.
[1. AlphabetPoetry. 2. American poetry.] I.

Diaz, David, ill. II. Title.
PS3545.I32165D5 1998
811'.52dc21 97-24617
ISBN 978-0-15-201470-4
ISBN 978-0-15-216362-4 pb C E G I K L J H F D For Liam and Amelia
R. W. To Elizabeth
D. If the alphabet began to disappear, Some words would soon look raggedy and queer (Like QUIRREL, HIMPANZEE, and CHOOCHOO-TRAI), While others would entirely fade away; And since it is by words that we construe The world, the world would start to vanish, too! Good heavens! It would be an awful mess If everything dissolved to nothingness! Be careful, then, my friends, and do not let Anything happen to the alphabet. A What if there were no letter A?
Cows would eat HY instead of HAY.
What's HY? It's an unheard-of diet,
And cows are happy not to try it. B In the word DUMB, the letter B is mute,
But elsewhere its importance is acute.
If it were absent, say, from BAT and BALL,
There'd be no big or little leagues AT ALL. C If there were no such thing as C,
Whole symphonies would be off key,
And under every nut-tree, you'd
See HIPMUNKS gathering winter food. D If D did not exist, some creatures might
Wish, like the Dodo bird, to fade from sight.
For instance, any self-respecting DUCK
Would rather be extinct than be an UCK. E The lordly ELEPHANT is one whom we
Would have no name for if there were no E,
And how it would offend him, were we to
Greet him as "Bud," or "Big Boy," or "Hey, you!"
The ELEPHANT is thick-skinned, but I'll bet
That that's a thing he never would forget. F Hail, letter F! If it were not for you,
Our raincoats would be merely " WATERPROO, "
And that is such a stupid word, I doubt
That it would help to keep the water out. G If G did not exist, the color GREEN
Would have to vanish from the rural scene.
Would oak trees, then, be blue, and pastures pink?
We would turn green at such a sight, I think. H An H can be too scared to speak, almost.
In gloomy words like GHASTLY, GHOUL, and GHOST,
The sound of H can simply not be heard.
But how it loves to say a cheerful word
Like HEALTH, or HAPPINESS, or HOLIDAY!
Or HALLELUJAH ! Or HIP, HIP, HURRAY! I Without the letter I, there'd be
No word for your IDENTITY,
And so you'd find it very tough
To tell yourself from other stuff.
Sometimes, perhaps, you'd think yourself
A jam-jar on the pantry shelf.
Sometimes you'd make a ticking sound
And slowly move your hands around.
Sometimes you'd lie down like a rug,
Expecting to be vacuumed. H An H can be too scared to speak, almost.
In gloomy words like GHASTLY, GHOUL, and GHOST,
The sound of H can simply not be heard.
But how it loves to say a cheerful word
Like HEALTH, or HAPPINESS, or HOLIDAY!
Or HALLELUJAH ! Or HIP, HIP, HURRAY! I Without the letter I, there'd be
No word for your IDENTITY,
And so you'd find it very tough
To tell yourself from other stuff.
Sometimes, perhaps, you'd think yourself
A jam-jar on the pantry shelf.
Sometimes you'd make a ticking sound
And slowly move your hands around.
Sometimes you'd lie down like a rug,
Expecting to be vacuumed.

Ugh!
Surely, my friends, you now see why
We need to keep the letter I.

Next page