Certainly Not
Hysteron-proteron,
Werner Karl Heisenberg
Felt that his birthday was
Hard to endure:
Could he have cake now and,
Quantum-mechanically,
Save it for afterwards?
He wasn’t sure.
The Moniker de Mon Oncle
Tragical-comical
Benedict Cumberbatch,
Prominent thespian,
Sherlock by fame,
Will, one conjectures quite
Elementarily,
Go down in history
Most for his name.
Copy That
Jiggery-pokery
X.J. (“Joe”) Kennedy
Seldom writes verses that
Fail to amuse.
“But,” he says, “someone has
Uncategorically
Stolen my act. Billy
Collins, J’accuse!”
Oysters or Snails
Higgledy-piggledy
Heliogabalus
Walked like a woman but
Talked like man,
Hiding his stubble with
Cosmetological
Legerdemain and a
Coppertone tan.
David Yezzi is a poet, critic, actor, editor, professor, and late-night banjo picker. His latest book of poems is Birds of the Air.