' ' ' ' Eh...Houston...I Think We Have A Problem With... And! Poem by Dónall Dempsey

“And! ”

“And what..? ”

“Ampersand! ”

“What’s that? ”

“It’s a sign you can make
to mean AND.”

“But why not just say
AND? ”

“This is a sign for it
& a shorter quicker way to write it! ”

“Oh! But it’s already small enough!
It’s only 3 letters! ”

“Look...I just like the look
of it
& the how of how
it sounds! ”
I protest.

I carve
Me AMPERSAND YOU
into a living tree.

The tree weeps sap.

“But now you’ve gone &
spelt it out! ”

“And that’s longer than AND
by 6 letters! ”

“Look...I just love
the sign & the sound! ”

“Ok? ”
“Alright! ”

“Alright? ”
“Ok! ”