!#@*

Or, in this case, simply &.

&
Rex Wilder

Do I have to spell it out? And is a grand-
parent or sacred text, respect on demand
Certainly, a star on every language's
Hollywood Boulevard, but no teenager's
First choice when heady impatience
Walks into the room, her future tense
All beguilement. Eternity's stunt double,
Space with impeccable timing, trouble
Looked forward to: the ampersand insists
On promiscuity, on strangers' trysts,
No previous likeness necessary until later,
When they get to know each other better.
One line, one pick-up line to prove
No match is inconsequential, or love.

From The Southern Review, Volume 39, Number 4 (Autumn 2003).

We found this on the Poetry Daily website.