Proofread?

The answer - probably not.

Is it really too much to ask

To add some punctuation?

It may not be a crime for which

There’ll be incarceration.

It's an affront to clarity,

In all manner of your writing

And fully understanding it’s

The battle I am fighting.

You may have great ideas,

You include some clever verse,

But why will you not punctuate?

It borders on perverse.

A comma now and then might let

Me know when there’s a pause;

A period may help me see

The end of that long clause.

Some simple dots and squiggles

Are what I’d like to see;

Question marks, quotations,

A correct apostrophe.

I cannot tell which sentence parts

Combine or stand alone 

Oh, damn, I have just noticed

Your misuse of homophones…

 

Author's Note

A way to vent some teacher frustration as I begin to read some short stories my students have written.

Reviews

[Pryde Foltz]

Again so funny. I've just gone back through my poems and edited out most punctuation at the end of line--the belief that the line end does it for me. Seriously, Rita, we may be twins.

BTW---funny poem and I was once a teacher and so I feel you're pain.(Have fun with that one.)

[Rita L. Sev]

Ahhh! :) Thanks, Pryde! This rant pertains more to essays and stories than poems - the rules are so different!

[Sami Khalil]

I understand your frustrations so well. We are trying our best teacher on this site ...lol just kidding
I'm guilty of that too...A splendid read and write...:)

[Rita L. Sev]

Ha! Thanks, Sami - a teacher's rant here! But you get an A in vocabulary! :)

[Sami Khalil]

Hahaha. Thank you so much. You get an A in teaching and all...:)

[s y e]

Hehe, I am famous for this but now that I am in High school, I proof read like a billion times! A great write, Rita.

[Rita L. Sev]

Ha! Yes, there is a point when students see the importance of proofreading... unfortunately, that point is not 7th grade! Thanks, Noodle!

[s y e]

I'm still crap at it! ha.

[Relic]

I know what you mean, I've seen it here in stories I've read. It's like falling over frontwards or tripping as you go through each sentence that's incorrect. ha Good one.

[Rita L. Sev]

Thank you, Relic! Yes, those errors can make a story so hard to read!

[Eddie Phillips]

My mom is a teacher and I know it annoys you to the core when you see things not properly punctuated. I really enjoyed this poem because it was funny but yet educational. A little punctuation every now and again can help a poem flow better. Ideas are given merit by the way they are presented. Thanks for this poem. I will share it with my mom.

[Rita L. Sev]

Thank you, Eddie! I get more frustrated when essays and paragraphs are not punctuated - it so interferes with clarity! Please do share this with your mother - it's a universal teacher struggle! :)

[eatme]

As an editor, I could 'rewrite' a brilliant novel in 3 days if I didn't sleep. So yeah, a poor grasp of mechanics is annoying. A super genius idea is worth millions of dollars. A super genius of mechanics is a low paying job as a spell checker.

Give me the plot of the next Jurassic Park and I'll fill in the mechanics.

[Rita L. Sev]

A super genius of mechanics is also a low paying job as a junior high teacher... Thanks for reading, Kleos.

[eatme]

I searched through all your stuff to find writing. Everyone does poetry because anyone can. You had a couple one-liners. And a class project story. If you have something to look at, you should put it up. I'd still like to know if any of the students have the gift of inventing a valuable story. You should encourage the ones with actual talent to write. They can pay one of the others to spell check it.

[Tom]

Very witty and this poem also relays a very pertinent message, not much point writing out a good poem or story if there's no punctuation to break up the sentences and emphasis the quality of the story within !

Very well penned Miss Sev and you get extra marks for good punctuation, presentation and grammer! A++

[Rita L. Sev]

Lol! Thanks for the A++. :) This was a better way to vent, rather than throwing a tantrum in the classroom!

[Tom]

Yes indeed, " The pen is mightier than the sword " !

[richom]

This is brilliant. I spent hundreds or thousands of hours grading compositions and wondering why they couldn't see these things. I was torn between handing back papers with my corrections all over it, or ignoring some errors in order not too discourage them from writing. You may be going through the same thing unless you've found a solution I never could. Richard

[Rita L. Sev]

Nope, still no solution. It is such a fine line, to insist on correct usage but not discourage creativity... Thanks, Rich.

[Wicked Dahlia]

a very understandable frustration! i'm rather a stickler for punctuation, spelling and general grammar rules in every day writing, especially on Facebook seeing as how much we interact with other people there. i'm afraid i can be a bit lax in punctuation in my poetry though. i don't why that is, other than i guess i see the line breaks as pauses and stopping points. i think this could be a clever way to get your students' attention though! it's well done and properly punctuated!

[Rita L. Sev]

I am not quite so stern when it comes to poetry - that's part of the fun. But in essays - argh! :) Thanks, Dahlia!

[Antoinette Tarsitano-Mo..]

You are such the grammar teacher!!

[Rita L. Sev]

Tee-hee! I can't help myself... Thanks, Cookie!