The Disappearing Alphabet

I love Richard Wilbur’s poetry and I especially appreciate his collection for kids: The Disappearing Alphabet.

Here is Wilbur on what would happen if there were no letter J:

If, all at once, there were no letter J,
A cloud of big blue birds might fly away,
And though they’d been an angry, raucous crew,
I think that I would miss them, wouldn’t you?

Here is Sam’s take:

What if there were no letter J?
There would be no JAM
It would have to be called AM instead.
And how would you JUMP?
It would have to be called UMP!
And if there was no J
If you have a name like JAME
How would you call yourself?
You would have to be called AME.
If you have a name like JIM,
You would have to be called IM!