Smitten With "S"

When I was a stripling of ten

I went to the dentist for braces 

I woke the next day with a very strong lisp

Oh, the scorn on my schoolmates’ faces

I said “Thanta" instead of “Santa”

Or “Yeth" instead of a “Yes” 

At first I avoided all words with “S”

But soon I just spoke less and less

I met with the school speech therapist

And practiced my “Ss” for a year

Then one fine day a miracle occurred

I spoke an “S” perfectly clear

At first I couldn’t believe my ears

I tried “S”  and then “S” two times more

“S” and “S”, “S”, and “S S S S”

Each new “S”, my spirits would soar

I made up whole sentences from “S”

Like “Sing a sad song for sweet Suzy”

Or “Pass the sauce and the sassafras please” 

All those “Ss” soon made me feel woozy

Soon  my whole life was subsumed by “S”

Sinatra, Kay Starr, and Simone

Cissy Spacek was my favorite actress

Not to mention Sylvester Stallone 

I took my vacations at the seaside

And visited my Sis in Sioux City

I ate every supper at Steak ’n Shake

Their sausage and scallops are skitty

All my favorite words now begin with “S”

There’s “sugar” and “sweetheart” and “smile”

Of course there are “sappy” and “silly”

But each “S”-word adds to one’s style

Some words with “S” are amazing

“Crossstitch” has three in a row

There are seven “Ss” in “Stresslessness” 

And “Supercalifragilistic” all of us know

“S” is a toolbox for poets

Thus “strain” rhymes with “slain” and “insane” 

There is “kiss”, “hiss”, “bris”, “miss”, “bliss”, “abyss”

“S” verses run wild in my brain

“S” gets its power from its mystical shape

It curves to the left and then right 

It’s the alphabet’s version of yin and yang 

Some say “S” is the path to The Light 

My life’s been transformed by the letter “S”

It has made my existence far better

Though lately my fervor’s been slipping

Now that X is my favorite new letter