Olalaberry Lonesome

Olalaberry Lonesome

by Joyce Wycoff

Words call like forgotten lovers,

detouring sleep into lost alleyways.

    Ambergris … aardvark

    Adenoids … alchemy

    Aubergine … apoplectic

    Abattoir … argle-bargle

 

Jigsaw puzzle pieces … 

Seventeen sometimes … 

Dusty, wind-blown words 

follow Highway 66 

like high plains drifters. 

    Dweeb … dangle

    Doggerel … decidophobia

    Dillydally … doodle

    Dandelion … dotish

Every lost word frazzle-worn

from endless attention clamoring

    Calamity … catacombs

    Cabochon … cabriolet

    Candescent … calumny 

    Candalabra … constellate

Purple words with chartreuse edges.  

Dusty, old maid words left too long on the shelf.

Zingy words, here today and  tomorrow … poof!

    Pabulum … paparazzi  

    Pattycake … pendulum

    Panache … palpable

    Pandemonium … pecuniary

Lonely, lost, abandoned, alone,

Solo, solitary, isolated, inconsolable,

Deserted, desolate, empty, estranged,

Rejected, renounced, forgotten, forsaken.

Waiting to be embraced, entwined,

Folded, fondled, cradled and cuddled,

Hugged and held once again 

In the family of words.

    Warp … washout

    Wheelhouse … whiffle

    Wondermonger … warble

    Whack … wobble

Olalaberry lonesome no more.