Eating My Words

"If it doesn't pan out exactly
as I've said," I told him,
"I guess I'll just have to eat
my words."

The very next day, as a matter
of fact, I started in
on the nouns. I plopped them whole,
one at a time, in my mouth.
First I sucked the juice out,
then I swallowed the pulp.
One caught in my throat
and I had to wash it down
with a few slurpy adjectives.

The verbs crunched and crackled
as my teeth bit down. I seasoned
them with a few unattached
but tasty articles.

In a small gesture of rebellion
I saved the prepositions
for dessert. As any sous chef
knows, you can't end anything
with a preposition, so that's exactly
what I did.

All in all, it was a most
satisfying meal.