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Word-Unit Palindromes: Top 10

King, are you glad you are king?1
Fall leaves after leaves fall.2
Says Mom, "What do you do?" – You do what Mom says.3
You know, I did little for you, for little did I know you.4
First Ladies rule the State, and state the rule: "ladies first."5
Please me by standing by me please.6
Blessed are they that believe they are blessed.7
Escher, drawing hands, drew hands drawing Escher.8
You can cage a swallow, can't you, but you can't swallow a cage, can you?9
Did I say you never say "never say never"? You say I did.10

Line-Unit Palindrome Poem

The following poem reads from the first line to the last as it does from the last to the first. It was written by James A. Lindon and was first published in Dmitri Borgmann's Beyond Language (1967).

Doppelgänger

Entering the lonely house with my wife
I saw him for the first time
Peering furtively from behind a bush –
Blackness that moved,
A shape amid the shadows,
A momentary glimpse of gleaming eyes
Revealed in the ragged moon.
A closer look (he seemed to turn) might have
Put him to flight forever –
I dared not
(For reasons that I failed to understand),
Though I knew I should act at once.

I puzzled over it, hiding alone,
Watching the woman as she neared the gate.
He came, and I saw him crouching
Night after night.
Night after night
He came, and I saw him crouching,
Watching the woman as she neared the gate.

I puzzled over it, hiding alone –
Though I knew I should act at once,
For reasons that I failed to understand
I dared not
Put him to flight forever.

A closer look (he seemed to turn) might have
Revealed in the ragged moon
A momentary glimpse of gleaming eyes
A shape amid the shadows,
Blackness that moved.

Peering furtively from behind a bush,
I saw him, for the first time
Entering the lonely house with my wife.

More on Palindromes

Find out more about palindromes by reading our brief history of palindromes and exploring our list of palindromes. We have a whole section devoted to the famous A Man, A Plan, A Canal: Panama palindrome, including an article discussing the Panama Palindrome's origin. If you want more, don't forget you can alway visit the palindromes books section of our online wordplay bookstore!

Footnotes:

by James A. Lindon.
by Betsy Mirarchi.
by Natalie Heiman.
by Patrick Robbins.
by Peter Stein.
by Peter Stein.
by Hugh Hazelrigg.
by John Meade.
by James A. Lindon.
by Bill O'Malley.

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