UNDERSTATEMENT

Understatement

A type of irony in which something is represented as less than it is.

Here is a straightforward poem using understatements by Brooke Lynn Moore.

Understatement
Hurt? Understatement. Broken? Understatement. Shattered? Understatement. All of the above multiplied by a [|million] Without hope of repair? Still an understatement, but as close as it is going to get Its not that my heart is broken But it is absent from my body So I pull myself together Into a ball on the floor And thats when I realize that the pain all over my body Is my bones. All shattered And if I open up even a fraction of a millimeter Everything will fall apart When you can't tell your fingers from your toes <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.167em;">When you can't tell you spine from your nose <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.167em;">When you can't tell the time of day, or even know if it is a new day <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.167em;">That's when you do know <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.167em;">That its all over. <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.167em;">Everything you've ever known <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.167em;">Everyone you've ever loved <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.167em;">The only one you've ever let in <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.167em;">Gone. <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.167em;">And its all your fault. <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.167em;">Does anyone out there know how that feels? <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.167em;">Can anyone out there relate? <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.167em;">Has anyone out there ever recovered? <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.167em;">Yes? Thats great <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.167em;">But I am destined to be the one in a million <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.167em;">Who never will be whole again <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.167em;">I will never even be half again <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.167em;">I can only hope to be a fraction again <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.167em;">One day <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.167em;">Though any day won't be soon enough <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.167em;">Because for everyday <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.167em;">I will love you <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.167em;">And for always <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.167em;">You will have my heart <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.167em;">But never again <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.167em;">Will your smile not only star in my dreams <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.167em;">But wake me up every morning <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.167em;">And I will never again <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.167em;">Look into your eyes <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.167em;">And see myself <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.167em;">Like I have before. <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.167em;">Before every despairing word <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 1.167em;">Became an understatement

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"> Another example: Babe Ruth hit some home runs in his career.