Epigraphs and Epigrams

“A humorous quotation is a little window on the world that gives life a comic twist.”

- Gyles Brandreth

I love a little humor, I
will seek it out: I really try.
That’s why I love the epigram.
I think about a theme…then…BAM!

My poem takes on life and breath.
I quite agree with Gyles Bandreth.
Regrettably, I’ve made the gaff
and thus confused the ‘gram with ‘graph,

because I suffer from a curse
whene’er I write an epi-verse.
Though never with an epi-pen.
It’s medical, but then again,

I like that epigram’s a short
or witty aphorism sort,
that’s meant to make a reader laugh.
It’s not a thing with epigraph.

See, stately epigraph’s a quote
which prefaces what someone wrote.
It’s often based on leitmotifs
and pairs well the book’s beliefs.

To further blur, an epigraph
is also not an epitaph.
That’s what is carved into most stones
to mark the place where there are bones.

Now, all might have some attributes
containing yuks and snorts and hoots.
Those are the ones I have pursued:
I’m all about a humor’d mood.

I guess you’re all a bit agog.
And so, this is my epilogue.

Looking for more poetry to enjoy? Start here:

• My Sister Has Cancer – Poetry
• The Stone Mirror – Poetry 
• Loneliness Gardens Loneliness –Poetry 
• Compost – Poetry

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RJ Clarken

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RJ Clarken has been published in Writer’s Digest, Möbius, Asinine Poetry, USA Today Online, and Measure, among other publications. She was Editor-in-Chief of Goldfinch, the literary journal for NJ’s Women Who Write, and she is the author of Mugging for the Camera and Penny Wishes. For several years, she served as judge for the Writer's Digest Annual Writing Competitions Rhyming Poetry contest. She is currently a member of the James River Writers and the Poetry Society of Virginia, since she recently moved from New Jersey to Richmond, Virginia.

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