Ad Alpha sequence A - H, from Great wits to Madness

A

You are the first

sound that we properly learn

to say

you are the great connector

a bridge

between you and they

you are the honest alpha

soft and unmale

a letter

to define all letters by

a beginning

a start

an A

B

You follow

sometimes you precede

bouncing along

from vowel to vowel

you multiply our meaning

you are elastic

you can sting

your percussive note

soft but warns

of consonants to come

you can be a real

B

C

Here it comes

the consonant of consonants

a real conniseur

you kick the jelly out of your brother

and let your amigo wail

you can call a cab

you can break backs

you could say you were a violent little fucker

but your second face

also soft

like lace chiffon

a joyous occasion or celebration

you can have class

you are chic

you can be full of grace

and charm

you must be used carefully

you are a chancy

C

D

you dawn

and bring us deeper into doubt

bringing a sonorous note

to the dark cave

the basic shadows cast by your existing

brothers

you are the dread harbinger

you are the doom

you are the dead

you are the damned drums of a brand new gravity

with your can do and your dockers

and your dames

you undermine the naive games of but three letters

your doldrums drag them grasping

for another sound

to our dread

D

E

You get here excited

as any other letter could be

the others enjoy you

even D

no letter could really be itself without you

it couldn't be said out loud

(except for O who was very lonely)

you bring joy and energy to almost

everything

we have you to thank for evil

and for effluence

however

you are let off almost effortlessly

you can be especially entertaining

comedy and tragedy

in waiting

and ecstasy was named in honour after you an

E

F

For fate's divine reasons

you were called to fish

for the other letters

where they were hooked you would change them

muffle them

you would emphasize them also

as you funnelled the sound

you could make things funny

or offensive

you could differentiate

you could feel sound

you could offer elegance of some fashion

you could F and blind

you were an intensifier mainly

with a softer landing

than anything seen

so far so

F

G

good. You give us the grace

to gaggle and gargle

to appreciate geese

amongst your brothers and sisters you are

the grease

getting us from home to don’t pass go

and in going you take the pace

along

you are the gong that heralds gear shifts

you are the letter that grifts and grafts

you put the gut into laughter

you get us gradually

by degrees

you are the one that gleams

you are the deep groan

you are the girl for me

you gnome

you glyph

you G

H

Ah hark at you. You herald home

drawing us to a full stop as we

exhale upon your pronunciation

You hold up chains

thorough and hair-raising harrowing

in thought

chasing cheap and unreachable

chops and hocks of ham

heathen among others

a harem a hen

sometimes you are laughable

chased as a charlatan

you hearken however to heaven

you make hay while He shines

you are the harlot’s hair

you are the chic chair

you are the chippings

you change

you make the others shake

but still you share

you are the holding cell

you put the horror

in hell

you retreat into your shell

you are hard to hold

you are the white noise

you are a hope

a breath

an H