Edlynn Nau Poet Lyric

Pardon My French

PARDON MY FRENCH

She swore like a sailor 
and what did it mean? 
Did he cuss as a pause... 
were their cohorts unclean? 

Were their vocabularies lacking
in something rich or refined? 
Did they swear in frustration,
were their expletives unkind?

Was she to quit swearing 
when dad counts to five? 
Did he pay at the cuss jar 
in a ten dollar crash dive? 

Must they think of real words 
and substitute when they can?
Should they change their slang
before, the *#!% hits the fan? 

It's a hard thing to do in
replacing letters of four. 
His teacher says,"try five,"
Her's says,"try a few more!" 

Her Mom says more letters
is just what she needs. 
And he tries to count five
but, his Urban impedes. 

The kids say, four letters 
are not that dirty or bad! 
Why must they change them
when they like what they've had. 

There is power in speech
and it tells all about us. 
So use five letter words 
and please, do not cuss. 

The kids were too literal 
in the teaching they heard.
They discovered, in short,
FIVE, is a four letter word. 

By Edlynn Nau
© June 28, 2016

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Michael Tor September 17, 2017 at 8:27 PM lol another witty and clever write.. Edlynn Nau September 17, 2017 at 9:22 PM Oh just a light bit! Delighted you could laugh with me though. Thank you Mike!

Paul Callus July 17, 2016 at 10:02 AM Very entertaining, Edlynn; I still can't rub off the grin on my face:) Back to the serious side of it....never in my entire life have I used swearing or foul language; I can't stand it. We were 9 people in our home, and nobody ever uttered anything profane! Upbringing and the company we keep has a lot to do with it. ~ Best regards // paul Edlynn Nau July 17, 2016 at 10:37 AM I think parents allowing it is a big problem, so many do. I KNOW schools do not allow it. Then I hear people that cannot get through a sentence without. I hear kids that think they are so tough and cool to speak this way and they sound cheap, uneducated, and not classy. I'm so pleased it made you smile!

CayCay Godwin July 8, 2016 at 11:28 PM How cute and clever! Many use cuss words for adjectives, verbs, etc. and, to me, it implies they are a very limited vocabulary and/or an inability to articulate details. All that aside, your poem was a treat to read - well done! Hope all is well in your world ... CayCay Edlynn Nau July 9, 2016 at 1:33 AM AWWW thank you CayCay. I'm delighted you took it for the fun and tongue-n-cheek I wanted it to be. I'm hanging in here. Hope your summer is an excellent one!

Jan Allison June 29, 2016 at 9:48 AM Kids learn by example - I try not to swear but sometimes a little cus does slip out thankfully my son is grown up now, but sometimes you hear kids in the street especially teenagers and their speech is littered with four letter words and it is so sad to hear as they think it is the norm:-( hugs Jan xx Edlynn Nau June 29, 2016 at 1:21 PM I was just thinking about you. I agree JAN. The reason I wrote this was not for the occasional swearing (born of frustration). It is for the folks who don't any longer even know that every three words is profanity. They might not make it through an interview or get hired (especially after high school where they at least practice turning it off to not be written up). I'm not sure what they think is cool about this in language. It is not expressive or descriptive. It doesn't communicate much! I have heard adults, clear into their 70's, speak this way and they have no clue of how off putting this truly is!

Mark Woods June 29, 2016 at 4:01 AM My daughter used your symbol word the other day to describe an action she was about to take. I think she thought it was a moment of cleverness. Not once I had finished with her though. I'm afraid the world is lowering it's standards and it's being led by the young. Mark Woods June 29, 2016 at 4:23 AM I work in an industry that encompasses all sorts of social classes and personality types. Maybe I'm a hypocrite but I can talk with a plum in my mouth and then make a sailor blush depending on the social context that I'm in... However those that start their language journey by making the sailor blush will never have the eloquence where the plum is required. Edlynn Nau June 29, 2016 at 4:14 AM Hello Mark! Yes I commiserate with you! I actually get tired of WAITING for them to get past all this profanity to find out what the subject or predicate could POSSIBLY be. Example: "So I told the *%# that he could jut take his #*+*^ self down the road and I don't care how #*%! he will get there but I'm not going to %#^+ help him." Wait, what? This bit to sound clever, tough, or in the know makes them sound vulgar, weak, & ignorant! Sigh!