The acrostic postiche

The hairpiece, male noun , which is worn to artificially replace something natural, is also known as a wick that one adapts at will to one's hairstyle… a toupee what.

In the 17th century, the hairpiece was defined as " applying to something without it appearing there " ... it's wonderful, because by extension this hairpiece perfectly illustrates the acrostic that interests me today ...

The acrostic which comes from the Greek compound akrostikhos, of akros (which means high, elevated) and stikhos (worms); the acrostic therefore is a poem, the initials of the lines of which, read vertically, compose a word.

Thus, when you see your text, the first letters, read vertically, reveal something else without it appearing...a coded message. This literary game used many times by great authors always offers a joyful discovery, sometimes metaphorical, sometimes more explicit.

Metaphorical as in the case of the well-known poem by Rimbaud “Le dormeur du val” where the last stanza says “ The perfumes do not make his nostril shiver; He sleeps in the sun, his hand on his chest, Quiet. There are two red holes on the right side. The…He…Tranquille… L … I … T …and now the sleeper's bed takes shape in acrostic.

Wonderful isn't it? Sometimes metaphorical, then, but sometimes more explicit too, like the well-known correspondence from Alfred de Musset to George Sand where, under cover of a sweet and romantic poem, Alfred asks his beautiful Aurore " When do you want me to sleep with you " thus offering him the possibility of replying “ This signal favor that your heart demands, Harms my fame and repels my soul. This … night … less poetic, obviously, but more concrete… to say the least.

So take your pens and, in your finest handwriting, find the romantic hero hiding in you in order to create acrostics on the shopping lists and - without it appearing - you declare the flame that burns at the end of this wick.