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The Woman with Twenty Thousand Dictionaries

A propos of yesterday’s post, a little poem. Poem-ish. Poemishness:

I recently read of a woman who Lives in a loft In Lower Manhattan. She owns twenty thousand Dictionaries. Though Madeline is a bookseller, The article implied These twenty thousand Dictionaries Were the home’s tomes, Not the store’s store. She is, at the very least, a Lexiconophiliac. I used to own all of two Dictionaries: The ultra-ultra-condensed OED

, with its own magnifying glass (a Necessity if there ever was one), and My beloved American Heritage

. These days such large volumes are Too cumbersome, and I’m too lazy, To heft their heft. Particularly when The world’s my oyster, and pearls are Uncovered with keyboards. I certainly admire Madeline’s Sticktoitiveness (you might say), But I worry for her, Not to mention her downstairs Neighbors, should she ever get Dictionary Twenty thousand and One.

Many thanks to Adam for the quick nip-and-tuck on it.

 
 
 

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