Listen to poem:
Silent Letter Symphony
Written: August 10, 2026, for a contest sponsored by Natasha L Scragg
Quote: “Silence has its own alphabet; some truths are written between the sounds.” By Poet
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Silent letters gathered late,
whispering softly about fate—
a subtle S in “island” sighed,
while ghostly G in “gnarl” replied.
They hosted a hush-riot feast,
where knee bent knowing peace increased,
and every hymn wore velvet shoes
to tiptoe through its muted muse.
Our English spelling makes me sigh,
Like the G that hides in gnat and gnaw.
The silent K in knee and knife,
It is the strangest thing I ever saw!
Why do we put a B in climb?
It sits right there and makes no sound.
The W in write and wrong
Is just the laziest letter found!
And what about the U in guard?
Or P that sneaks inside a psych?
The T that lurks in watch and match—
It’s like a grammar hitchhike!
A ghostly H hangs out in ghost,
While receipts include a phantom P.
The B in debt and subtle schemes
Is utterly invisible to me!
Consider islands with their S,
Or how a column ends in N.
A scent has C or S (or both?)—
It drives me crazy now and then!
The O in leopard plays a trick,
The W in two is just a ghost.
These sneaky stowaways of script
Are what confuse the learners most!
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