Exploring Under

[a poem inspired by the Weekend Wordsmith prompt "Under"]


Under

I undertook some research so that I would understand
how "under" plays a part in so much language in our land.

A spy works undercover, doing work that's underhanded.
Underprivileged folks may have to do the work that they're commanded.

I fly under the radar and they underestimate --
even underclassmen know that is a fatal trait.

I've worked with underfunded groups, with not one underwriter
to make the underpinnings of the club a whole lot brighter.

I'll be under the weather if my food is underdone.
To undercook the poultry is a risk for more than some.

The underage might underdress for a black-tie affair,
undermining the decorum showing peeks of underwear.

The dangers underwater pose an undersea-type fate.
A beach's deadly undertow is hard to understate.

The role of understudies was one often underrated,
underlining all the entrances while every show they waited.

An underpass is underneath the busy road or street.
Some underlings are overlooked by co-workers they meet.

They plot and plan to make it big, a "mover and a shaker,"
how many of the undergrads become an undertaker?

You pay under-the-table to avoid incurring tax.
You undergo a deep massage in order to relax.

You crawl beneath a car to see its undercarriage there,
but you hope you never see the underbelly of a bear.

I wear clean underclothes the way my mom told me I should
I wrote this poem to underscore how under's understood.