How to Pronounce My Last Name for Poets

NaPoWriMo April 21: “In your poem for today, we challenge you to write your own poem in which you muse on your name and nicknames you’ve been given….”

Okay, okay. My last name may sound a bit flakey—even for a poet—IF IT’S MISPRONOUNCED!
(Sorry. Didn’t mean to yell. Sore point.) I’d like to thank NaPoWriMo for giving me the opportunity to clear this up…

How to Pronounce My Last Name for Poets
by Elizabeth Boquet

Come on. Yes, we can!
Forget the spelling.
Concentrate on the sound.
Two syllables. First one:
Rhymes with toe, faux, dough,
bro, and schmo. It’s Bo.
Like Miss Peep’s first name.
It’s not Bou. It does not rhyme
with zoo, shoe, lieu, or queue—
and if you just managed
the word queue, then you
may skip to the last stanza.

No, I did not make the name up.
I got it from my Belgian husband,
thank you very much.
No, of course, we didn’t name
our daughter Rose after his grandmère.
Yes, I’ve heard all about Hyacinth,
by the name of Bucket on that show,
who insists all call her Mrs. Bouquet.
Bucket is my nickname. I love it.
Boquet is my last name.
I love my husband.

Second syllable. Spelled q-u-e-t.
Again, never mind the spelling,
because it rhymes with toupee,
beret, sleigh, reggae, and callay.
Not, say, like “kept” without the p.
And if you understood that,
you can skip to the next line.
BoUquet is floral. BO-quet is not—
Boquet rhymes with okay.
It does not rhyme with Bucket,
which rhymes with fu…something else.