PostPoems Be Artistic. Be Creative. Be Inspired!

I like to solve word ladders…as a puzzle I think they’re great!

Did you know Lewis Carroll invented word ladders back in 1878?

Yes, the same Lewis Carroll who in 1865 I understand…

wrote a story about Alice…who followed a rabbit running late

into a wonderland.

In a word ladder you start with a word…

The object is for that word to be reversed…

by changing one letter at a time you make a chain of words…

and when you're finished there is a link between the last word and the first.

For instance let’s take the word love… 

change the ‘l’ to a ‘d’ and you have dove.

Change the ‘v’ to ‘t’ and you have dote.

Then change the ‘o’ to an ‘a’ and you have date…

Change the ‘d’ to an ‘h’ and voila…

you have quickly changed love into hate.

A word ladder works in both directions…

in case that’s something you were thinking of

We can start with the word hate and using the same process

change hate back into love.

But life is not a word game is it…played with paper, pencil or pen…

and love which can quickly change to hate…

Does not change so quickly back again.

Perhaps Lewis Carroll provided a solution…

reminding us if we want to find our Wonderland…it’s is not too late…

When he wrote, ‘Oh, ’tis love ’tis love that makes the world go round…

and no where did he mention hate.

So here’s a little something inspired by Lewis and his Alice

that I’ve been thinking of…

What if the word ladder we’re creating in life

begins and ends with love.