25. the coffee table book
there’s a pedant sitting
waiting
in a corner of the hall
beneath a glazed expression
that’s hanging on the wall
the malcontents and ne’er do wells
are fingering the wedding belles
and onomatopoeiae smirk
at dangers in the plasterwork
whilst keeping up appearances
& thesaurus held near
the metaphor & simile
grammatically peer
beyond the confines of the page
where box & cypress form a cage
to ornamental gardens flee
beyond the maze of you and me
they slip their bounds
and with a leap
escape the wordsmith
fly the keep.