I Before E

I Before E

“I before E, except after C,
When the sound you are making is ee.”

19^th Century proverb

Well, yes, there are exceptions,
But not nearly often as they claim –
Can we look at some ?
Well, sure, I’m game.

No, not science, that’s bogus and you know it –
Do I really have to show it ?
Look – the I and E are each in a sep’rate syllable.

And no, not eight, nor beige, nor vein –
I surely should not need to explain –
You’ll have to do better to prove that it’s a silly rule.

And no, not foreign, nor ancient, nor surfeit –
Pronunciation shifts short-circuit,
Their violation will not outlive you –

But protein, Keith, and seize, I’ll give you.

But no, not heifer, nor leisure, disobey it,
While neither and sheikh, it depends how you say it,
And feisty, and height, and Reich don’t fit the label,
While with weird and their, that R makes them unstable,
And suffixes don’t count, like juicier or fallacies –
Yes, English is a mess, yet those are such banalities –

But species, Eid, and cuneiform – yeah, those are fatalities…