Oh, Thesaurus,
may your name be sung
in the great halls of every library.
May you never be confused
with paltry Theseus who couldn’t
raise the right flag,
whereas you,
mighty Thesaurus,
fix our red flags for us.
Oh, Thesaurus,
lifesaver to all young Jedi writers
trying to wield the word force.
Lend us your omni-voice,
Duke of Diction.
Give us your greatest gift:
unlimited word choice.
© khartless 2022, All Rights Reserved
d’Verse celebrates National Thesaurus Day with a choice poem assignment about the Thesaurus.
I remembered from my primary teaching days that today is the anniversary of lexicographer Peter Mark Roget’s birthday. My young students enjoyed the illustrated biography of his life, The Right Word, whose cover is featured on this post.
In childhood, Roget loved making lists and found that lists of words helped him to cope with the shyness and awkwardness he felt throughout his life. He graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a doctorate at the age of 19 and went on to write extensively his entire life. He finished his “Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases Classified” in 1852 with 15,000 words. Amazing!
Artwork: The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus written by Jen Bryant. Illustrated by Melissa Sweet.
Yard Sale of Thoughts 
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