A Short History of Poetry
It was the best of times; it was the worst of times;
The shadow and the fire made the first of rhymes.
The child was in its cradle and the wolf asleep,
And both were counting out the innocence of sheep;
But Mother always hummed to them a lullaby,
In alternating lines of half-matched melody,
And found the soothing best to be the rocking beat:
A tidal lub-dub in each line and then repeat.
Since then the fractured world, in chaos and despair,
Has turned its back on Mum and wandered everywhere.
And thus the lullaby has fallen ill and dead...
There's no more need to rhyme, the wolf is now a dog;
And baby sleeps content in silence as a log
Upon the rhymeless altar of the modern bed.