Colon :

(colons as punctuation marks)

The Colon :

The colon by some is thought odd,
And no wonder:
Two periods make it,
One over,
One under.

The colon resemble the eyes of a beast:
A tiger,
A fox,
Or a tomcat at least —
Two eyes ever looking, two eyes open wide,
That belong to a creature that lies on its side.

Unable to point or to say, "over there,"
All the colon can do,
And it does it,
Is stare.
So here's a suggestion: go on, if you please,
To where it is looking, to see what it sees.

—This poem is compiled from On Your Marks, A Package of Punctuation
by Richard Armour; McGraw-Hill Book Company; New York; 1969; page 19.

For other marks of punctuation, go to the Index of Punctuation Marks unit.