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    ELUDE/ALLUDE

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    ​(A proofreader's note regarding “elude” and “allude.")

    The hunted dude hid shy of shoe,
    Deliberate in the nude;
    His exit with the bodies bare
    Would all pursuit elude.

    Illusiveness no less was sought,
    In desperate bid to flee.
    The prospect brought a heady rush;
    One couldn’t wait to see.

    And so this tale would merely hint
    The meaning of “elude,”
    Which thereby is “alluded” to,
    As literary food.

    Indeed, restricted to “allude”
    We kept the telling true,
    Not offering up its friend “elude”
    But surely hinting through.

    Adroit avoidance with “elude”
    Is commonly what's meant,
    Though “fail to be attain-ed by”
    Is often the intent.

    “The championship eludes them still.”
    “A nap eludes the coach.”
    “A certain rule eludes the kids.”
    “Free pass eludes the roach.”




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    COMPRISE/COMPOSE

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    (A proofreader's note regarding “comprise” and “compose.”)

    A Role in the Whole

    Each part must play a given role
    In every thing that's whole;
    The whole of it comprises parts 
    That constitute the whole.

    Together they compose the whole,
    Whatever role the whole;
    The role may be to touch the soul,
    A goal we all extoll.

    But even goals within the whole
    Of smaller roles consist;
    The greater whole they thus compose,
    Enabling to subsist.

    Let's take as example a plant much revered
    For fragrance and medicine both;
    The lilac comprises many surprises,
    From scent to hue to growth.

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    CENSOR/CENSURE

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    (A proofreader's note regarding “censor” and “censure.”) 

    (Editing that occurs without a governmental mandate may not strictly qualify as censoring. Furthermore, “censuring” does not involve actual suppression of content but, rather, a near condemnation of one's actions/behavior.)

    The incense from a single censer
    Perfumed the gloomy room
    Wherein he sat, the aging censor,
    Reviewing writs to doom.

    Religious fervor struck the project,
    Though government enjoined,
    And gave the opposition members
    A way to make a point.

    It took the form of devious censure
    Against the censor turned;
    Withdrawn and fairly quiet by nature,
    The aging censor burned.

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    APPRISE/APPRAISE

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    (A proofreader's note regarding “appraise” and “apprise”)

    Two verbs that “diff” by single vowel
    “Apprise” and sibling are;
    The “a” that makes “appraise” more senior
    Adds age and wisdom far.

    By virtue of this dispensation,
    It aims to scrutinize;
    And thus “appraise” involves assessment,
    Achieved by critical eyes.

    “Appraise” may therefore be praising or razing,
    Depending on its end.
    “Apprise,” instead, is mostly a telling,
    Though gain-in-value friend.