Sough
I learned a new word, “sough,” today.
_I think it’s quite poetic.
Although it’s quirky in a way
_That’s odd but not pathetic.
It seems it sometimes rhymes with “suff,”
_Though “sow” is most preferred.
But if you don’t try hard enough
_And “sight rhyme?” How absurd!
In that case you’d be rhyming “sough”
_With “hiccough,” “cough,” or “dough,”
Or even “through;” while “rough” and “plough”
_Are proper ways to go.
But having said all that, it seems
_We ought to figure out
Exactly what this “sough-word” means
_And what it’s all about!
In lexicons, “soft whistling sound,”
_Is how the word “sough” might
Be best defined. Though rare, it’s found
_In Shakespeare’s play, Twelfth Night.”
So use it oft, or ne’er at all,
_But if it’s used, use well!
No doubt if sough of winds befall,
_They’ll have a tale to tell!
James A. Tweedie is a retired pastor living in Long Beach, Washington. He has written and published six novels, one collection of short stories, and four collections of poetry including Sidekicks, Mostly Sonnets, and Laughing Matters, all with Dunecrest Press. His poems have been published nationally and internationally in both print and online media. He was honored with being chosen as the winner of the 2021 SCP International Poetry Competition.
James, it is tough enough for us to pronounce and spell the English language. I can only imagine those who must learn it as a second language.
Roy, you used the word “tough” in your comment—which is, of course, an alternative rhyme for my new word See how easy it is!
James, I love your fun and wordy poem. It reminds me of an anonymous rhyme called, “Hints on Pronunciation for Foreigners”, which also makes the head spin. Thank you for this.
This is delightfully funny wordplay! I love all the fun eye-rhymes — I guess they show what odd spellings our language has. I think my husband once used “daughter” to rhyme with “”laughter”.
What I like about this James is that you have covered every eventuality – you are so thorough!
Lol James. I laugh because you just used another “…ough” word (thorough) with yet another sound! It looks as if I was not as thorough as you thought!
Yea, James, not so thorough as I thought – like you, I thought so.
Your poem reminds me of an old, 1942, Will Hay comedy, The Goose Steps Out, where he’s dropped into Nazi Germany as a spy and is teaching a group of Hitler youths English. The ‘slough’, ‘tough’ and ‘plough’ bit is between 17 and a half and 18 and a half minutes.
https://m.ok.ru/video/2821283121844
Thanks for the laugh.
Paul,
Very droll and witty movie, as if Punch magazine had accidentally fallen onto the silver screen the way National Lampoon did years later with the two Vacation movies. I remember Terry Thomas as one of the last of the vaudevillian-style, over-the-top-zany actors from that now long-gone era. The curious thing about this is how sophisticated the humor is while being accessible to all classes of folks from the House of Lords to the local pub. I wonder if British or American society will ever again embrace the iconoclastic likes of a Monty Python, a Mel Brooks or an “Airplane.” Imagine a movie where everyone flips off (or “up-yours”) an Islamic terrorist the way that Hitler is derided in the The Goose Steps Out. Today, people think that Trump is the enemy while the sad fact of the matter is that, for them, the real enemy is us. And that isn’t particularly funny.
I remember teaching “-ough” in homeschool phonics as a puzzle piece to be memorized, word by word. But I don’t believe “sough” was included as one of the words, and I’m actually glad there was no poem to confuse the students. But a new word is a treasure to poets, as you’ve shown, James.
What a clever and creative work! Very well done!
Now I know a new word, thanks a lot. Great job of using verse to explain the word and its sound. Thanks for sharing.