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Unnecessary Words

Help me! I am addicted to unnecessary words
In everyday speaking I am hopelessly loquacious
And worse, in my poetry, so much for the birds,
Help me! I am addicted to unnecessary words!

Too many adjectives and unnecessary adverbs
Like “very” and “really” adding nothing of merit
And thoughts burdened with repetitive phrases,
Too many adjectives and unnecessary adverbs!

I turned on grammar assistance only to discover
The program needs to work overtime to fix me,
Like “needs to work” instead of simply “works”
I turned on grammar assistance only to discover,

I do not write nearly so well as I thought I did
Employing lots of words to express my meaning,
Overworking words that appear over and over
I do not write nearly so well as I thought I did!

Written December 6, 2022

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I Am Anaya Date: 12/8/2022 10:52:00 AM Mark Twain on editing--When in doubt, cross it out! Were you channeling Mark? Login to Reply L Milton Hankins Date: 12/8/2022 11:19:00 AM Perhaps! No, actually, I am becoming more aware of how wordy I am. And, I am trying to improve.

Maurice Rigoler Date: 12/7/2022 3:11:00 AM That's when judicious editing comes to the rescue, painful as it often is. I try to write lean sentences. / Maurice Login to Reply

Caren Krutsinger Date: 12/6/2022 11:01:00 PM "I turned on grammar assistance only to discover The program needs to work overtime to fix me," - hahahahahahahahahahahaaha This is exactly what I find too! I love this poem! Login to Reply L Milton Hankins Date: 12/8/2022 11:21:00 AM Thank you, Caren. I'm using "grammar assistance" as a learning tool. And I, too, am driving it crazy!

John Lawless Date: 12/6/2022 2:43:00 PM well, I don't know, perhaps, maybe, but then again...y'know...blame it on the dictionary and thesaurus, Randall those overly long and wordy sentences we had to diagram in 3rd grade, or Shakespeare Login to Reply L Milton Hankins Date: 12/6/2022 6:52:00 PM Well, it's obvious, John, that you know what I'm talking about.

Marco Chies Date: 12/6/2022 1:04:00 PM I thought I was the king of unnecessary words!!! Thanks for knocking me off the throne! Login to Reply L Milton Hankins Date: 12/6/2022 1:39:00 PM Well, maybe we are twins in spirit!

Jim Slaughter Date: 12/6/2022 11:43:00 AM This would be really hilarious, L M...if it weren't so true for so many of us. Something I vowed not to do in my "A Poet's Pledge"...write verse that is "overripe with verbiage...". I'm still working on it. Login to Reply L Milton Hankins Date: 12/6/2022 12:25:00 PM I keep working on it after sixty years, Jim. We have certain words we apparently like to repeat, and so, we repeat them to the point of nausea!

Becky Forbes Date: 12/6/2022 10:19:00 AM Cute! Seems forming unnecessary words into meaning to meet a syllable measure is part of the fun. Like pottery - only making word vases. Login to Reply L Milton Hankins Date: 12/6/2022 10:42:00 AM Thanks, Becky, for your thoughtful comment.