Ode to the Apostrophe

I look like a comma, but please don't be fooled,

I am my own symbol, though oft times misruled,

I have many uses, and still hope that one day,

I'll be better studied, by all and by sundry.

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Some have abused me, and without apology,

But I've sought answers in clinical psychology,

Now I'm unique and just love what I do,

So since you're my friend, I'll explain things for you.

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First I'm a 'bring-in' when letters abort,

When they want a break, or a rest, long or short,

I'll stand where they've been, and just so you know, 

I'm always on call, when they're a 'no show'.

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Can't, didn't, don't, won't are examples of this,

But I'm not just negative, don't take the piss,

'Cause I'll, she'll and they'll, are all jumping for joy,

They all have the will for me to deploy.

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I also show ownership, next to an 's',

So Mike's, Tom's, or it's, shows me at my best,

Plus Mary's and Magna's, means what they possess,

Without me they're plurals, that's what I profess.

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I may seem aloof, as I'm perched above others,

But don't let that fool you, my sisters and brothers,

I'm really a simple grammatical tool, 

So please come to love me and think that I'm cool.

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When not researching the weird or the wonderful, the comical or the cultured, the sinful or the serious, I chase my creative side, the results of which can be seen as selected photographs of my travels on my website at:

http://ken-boddie.squarespace.com

The author of the above, Ken Boddie, besides being a consulting engineer, is an enthusiastic photographer, rarely leisure-travelling without his Canon, and loves to interact with other like-minded photographers and people with an artistic background.

Ken's three day work week (part time commitment) as a consulting engineer allows him to follow his photography interests, and to plan trips to an ever increasing list of countries and places of scenic beauty and cultural diversity.