Exclamation !

(exclamations as punctuation marks)

The Exclamation Mark (Point) !

Wham!
Bang!
Zowie!
Oh!
Here is a mark it's exciting to know.
If it's called not a mark but a point, this is why:
It points like a rocket right up at the sky,
A rocket just launched from its pad with a blast
And a swish! and a swoosh!
And it's rising fast!

It's slim
And it's trim
And it's soldier straight,
Like a guard that's on guard at a palace gate.
It's also like someone set free who was bound,
Now joyfully jumping a foot off the ground.

You find it with grim and you find it with gay,
Not only with "ouch!"
But, as often, "Hooray!"
It's not for a whisper, it's more for a shout,
So look for excitement when it is about!


—This poem is compiled from On Your Marks, A Package of Punctuation
by Richard Armour; McGraw-Hill Book Company; New York; 1969; page 23.

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