Jay Lake is running a contest– a steampunk abecedary. His opening line, ‘A is for airship,’ was so perfect, it inspired me to write something along those lines.

For your enjoyment:

A is for Airship

A is for airship, and the Airmen who fly it;
B is for ballast; (we remembered to buy it).

C is for cyclotron that spins ’round and ’round;
D is for dynamos, that keep us off-ground.

E’s for equipment, the tools and the gadgets;
F is for flightsuit, spangled with badges.

G is for gyroscope, it keeps us upright;
H is for halon, shining bright in the night.

I is for icepick, if the weather gets cold;
J is for jumpsuit, (mine is new, yours is old).

K is for kites that we fly off the bow;
L is for lightning that we’re gathering now.

M is for markers that show us the way;
N is for nimbus clouds late in the day.

O is for oxygen, all of us need it;
P is for petrol, and the pneumatics that bleed it.

Q is for queen, in whose honor we fly;
R is for racing up high in the sky.

S is for stars that wink, blink, and glow;
T is for tailwinds that helpfully blow.

U is for underwear drying off in the rigging;
V is for virus that you’re hopefully not getting.

W’s for warmth, for a cabin secure;
X is for xyclograph (what it does, I’m not sure).

Y is for you, getting us safely to ground;
Z is for zest and when we all shout out ZOUNDS!