Lawrence Hall
Dispatches for the
Colonial Office
The Curse of the – Dramatic - Dash
The dash for – dramatic pause
– infests
Almost every – essay – these
days
Such errant usages - have
become pests
And thoughtful writers - might
want to mend - their ways
A clear English sentence - is tight - and terse
A model of - artistic -
clarity
But all those pointless - dashes
- just make it worse
Compromising its - structural
- harmony
If in re-writing you find –
you’ve placed a dash
Just rip that sucker - out –
and toss it in –
the trash!
