I feel sorry for E

It’s such a loner

Always on the edge of a word.

Never fully included.

It used to be magic

But now it’s been relegated.

To a split digraph.

Less wizard, more mathematical.

Just a sub-section of a more important grouping.

An operator that makes a long vowel sound.

Only to be dropped

When a suffix is found.

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E is not very musical.

You don’t find it much in wind or brass

Nor in the rhythm section of the band.

And in the key of E, there are too many sharps.

Unless you are a guitarist.

As for vocals, well…

If I sing a song, a song was sung.

So I know I sang a song.

All the other vowels have a go on the mic.

But not E.

Unless it’s karaoke.

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All the E words are going.

Is being short for ‘electronic’ enough,

When email becomes Gmail

and Ebook becomes iBook?

And in teaching, even ‘Excellent’

(which is full of Es)

has been replaced by Outstanding.

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I guess some things have their time

And then diminish…

They have a good run,

But then they finish.

It seems unfair to me:

It’s not nice to see

Like a slowly withering tree

Or a graze on the knee.

I say don’t mistreat the E

It is the letters’ honey bee

So pay the E its fee

And let the E be free.