The grammar gods begrudge us
only the tiniest quiver
of punctuation marks
to assert our meaning.
To stop, or pause,
to set off one word against another.
But of all the weapons
in this thinnest of armories,
there is just one
that admits of emotion,
allows the writer to enthuse,
to leap up, cry out,
exclaim with a loud voice.
And though this humble mark
pervades the speech of everyday—
the shout of each playing child,
and each hovering parent—
it is this same modest mark
that, appearing upon the page,
evokes only contempt and derision,
condemns the aspiring scribe
to the ranks of amateur,
mocked by copy editor
and reader alike.
And yet, from time to time,
despite the risk of cajole and mockery,
I let one sneak in, if only
to catch the reader napping,
to rattle the windows a bit
and let the world know
that there remain in this world
things which, though perhaps rare,
are still worthy of exclamation!
10.17.20
Brian Kenneth Swain
Based on a Chekhov short story (The Exclamation Mark starring Yefim Perekladin) parodying “A Christmas Story” in which the protagonist is haunted by a series of punctuation marks, culminating in the appearance of phantom exclamation marks that underlie the lack of excitement in Perekladin’s life.