Shadowboxing with Syntax
The Economist Shadowboxing with Syntax I squared up to a sentence tonight— chin tucked, comma loose in my mouthguard. Syntax circled, light on its clauses, jabbing with a subordinate I never saw coming. I countered with a metaphor—wild swing, too ornate— and kissed the canvas of my own ambition. The crowd of blank pages roared (very quietly). I danced on the balls of my parentheses, ducked under a dangling modifier, let a semicolon split the round like a diplomatic handshake between ideas that refuse to share a locker room. We clinched in the corner— me whispering, “flow,” it whispering, “order.” Its footwork was elegant, ruthless; mine was mostly enthusiasm. By round three I was shadowboxing myself— throwing haymakers at echoes, calling it craft. Syntax leaned on the ropes, patient as gravity. The bell rang—a period, decisive. I raised my gloves to the mirror, split lip of hubris, grinning through the grammar. Tomorrow, we train again— lighter on my feet, heavier on the truth. ----- T...
