A Dash of This and a Dash of That Ron AI 

IM Dash

You won't find me in the dictionary,

But you might find my EM cousin.

For I am the dash of dashes, divine,

You'll find me by the dozen.

I’m old 100, 220, and 440 yard dashes,

Now universalized to metric meters.

Find me in short dashes to market,

Or upon which expression deters.

A dash of this, and a dash of that,

Makes the hash, not taste so flat.

How much is a dash, you inquire?

Don’t encourage a cook’s ire.

Always thought just hyphen and dash,

So many couldn't even distinguish.

Come to find out there's an EM one,

Like I never learned my English.

A hyphen joins two words,

Into a new compound word.

Until common usage grows,

And the n-word becomes nerd.

A dash designates apparently nothing,

For I know not where it's used.

It's disappeared from the lexicon,

Probably because being abused.

The em – is mighty confusing,

Whether to put a space,

Before or after it, I wonder,

Is downright amusing.

Putting a space before and after,

Seems to be the preferred way,

But why bother with all the extra spaces,

When brevity seeks its day.

I guess I'll dash off to other tasks,

With this one, I am dashingly done.

Copyright 2026 © Ronald W. Hull

4/22/26

You can read and print this poem at my website here.