In the writing group that I have joined, we were tasked with writing an abecedary story or poem. An abecedary is an old fashioned ABC style form of writing where each line begins with a progressive letter of the alphabet.
For those who may be interested the 119th Psalm is written in this style. It however used the Hebrew language, not English.
Additionally, well-known theologian Frederick Buechner wrote three abecedary books. Together they are referred to as his Lexical Trilogy. The trilogy consists of: Wishful Thinking, a seekers ABC; A peculiar Treasure, a biblical who’s who; and Whistling in the Dark, an ABC theologized.
All that to be said, this is a fun style to play with. I actually found myself waking up in the middle of the night to write. Here are four for your enjoyment or horror – you decide.
1st Abecedary by Dawn M. Adams
At the
Beginning of
Creation,
Dawn
Early
Found the
Ground,
Hailing
In justice,
Knowledge,
Love.
Man, though, in
Noble pursuit
Opened
Pandora’s box
Quietly
Releasing
Selfishness and greed,
Trading
Universal
Virtues
For
Wealth.
eXtremes broke the day.
Yearning to begin again, we wish we could be like the
Zinnea. New each spring. But alas beginnings only come once.
Now we are called to heal, repair, and mend rather than simply starting again.
2nd Abecedary by Dawn M. Adams
“At the beginning,” we tend to say.
But the beginning of what? Where?
Can we even truly know the beginning?
Do we really know what came first?
Everything seems to have a precedent.
Finding the true beginning would mean
Going back and back and back to the beginning of
History.
“In the beginning”
Just estimates and approximates our
Knowledge.
Legends though reach farther than that.
Myths weave wonders creating even earlier tales.
No clear beginning exists.
One says this. Another that.
People disagree.
Questions arise.
Really, does it matter when it all
Started?
Time is an illusion, best left alone.
Universal agreement is not needed.
Very little is needed.
When we live
eXposed to time,
You only need to live in the now.
Zero agreement on how it came to be.
3rd Abecedary – A Zebra in my Car
by Dawn M. Adams
At first Frank just
Backed away from the
Car
Determined not to
Escalate the situation. He stepped back slowly and calmly
Finding what he thought was safe
Ground.
He looked around, searching for a way to
Innocuously retreat so that he could return in the daylight with a plan of action.
Judiciously, he took stock of the area, paying attention to every exit, every pothole, every curb and obstacle in case he needed to retreat more quickly. He
Knew it would be important to have options. He
Looked around to see if there were any other people around that he
Might implore for help; but
Night left this parking area empty. There were
Other cars parked in the vicinity, but not another
Person to be seen.
Quietly, he dared to take another couple of steps back. He knew this wasn’t a perfect plan, but what else could he do in the middle of the night. He would
Return for his car in the daylight, perhaps with
Support of others who might help. They would
Together make a plan and
Use their joint resources to gain entry to his car. Of course, part of him wondered who would believe him. His friends would, no doubt, believe that he was just
Very drunk.
Why else would he abandon his car in a parking lot in the middle of the night? Who would believe such
eXtremely odd circumstances? Even he acknowledged that he would have a hard time believing a friend and would think that they had woven a
Yarn and were pulling his leg. Who would believe that a
Zebra kept me from getting in my car? Where did such a beast come from anyway? The questions didn’t really matter in the moment. Step one was to retreat to safety so that he could return another day. Perhaps then the Zebra would be gone. On the other hand, maybe it would be better if the Zebra stayed, then at least someone might understand why he had to leave his car in the parking lot and call an Uber to get home.
4th Abecedary – A Magic Potion
By Dawn M. Adams
At the
Back of the
Cabinet I found an eye-
Dropper. I had forgotten that I had put it there all those years ago. That little
Eye-dropper contained the smallest, single drop of
Flajewelan Jelly: a rare but precious gift
Given to me from my grandmother and to her by hers. The jelly was made by
Heating and boiling low and long the
Insides of the rare Kaputchen flower, which only blooms for a single day in
June, with the
Kipper straw plucked from the cliffs of
Llewelyn. To that is added a
Magical spell and water from the spring of Endive. This concoction can only be made by the light of the full moon and must be finished by pressing it through a fine sieve. The mixture should almost clear,
No impurities. Then it can be packaged for distribution, but it is so powerful that one does not need a barrel or bowl or even a cup – a simple eyedropper will do. Fortunately, it can sit like that for days, weeks, month, decades, generations . . . the
Only problem is that with time come forgetfulness. Thus, much of this magical
Potion has been lost, forgotten in some hidden corner or tossed away thinking that it is a worthless nothing. I, though, still have my dose
Quietly stashed in the back of my kitchen cabinet. I don’t think anyone else in my household even knows it’s there,
Resting for the day when I finally decide it is needed. Is this, I suddenly wonder, why it is
Still here? Is
This why it has been passed secretively from generation to generation
Unused? Has its recipe been remembered but the full potency of its use forgotten? Have the
Very people entrusted with its keeping forgotten its true powers or do they always have hope that the
World will fix itself? Do they ignore the
Xenophobia, the ethnocentrism, racism, prejudice, and discrimination or do they just live in hope that we will find a way to fix it ourselves? I have to acknowledge that at 92, I have
Yet to draw it from the shelf except when it gets packed to move to a new kitchen in a new house. Soon I suspect, I will either have to use it or pass it on myself. I wonder if I will live in hope or if it will finally be time to excrete the sacred droplet, say the magic words,
“Zirad – Zam – Zadee” and live into whatever happens next.
NOTE: All rights reserved to writings above.
If you decide to play with this writing style, I would love to hear what you come up with. Please post below.
Wandering and Wondering 