Oops!
To recognise Death's designs:
The foul fungi in a fairy ring,
The scorpion's crooked sting,
The plant's lethal bloom,
The water's taste of doom.
We see and know the score,
One false step, one blundered bite,
We pass through Death's door
Into everlasting night.
But in the cold light of day
We should remember those
Who paved the way,
Women and men unknown,
Once alive, now bone,
Adams and Eves all,
Whose deaths are on Fate's roll call;
They were the precocious pioneers,
The ones who had no natural fears,
Experimenters with food and drink,
Those who did not stop to think.
Without them we would not know
What to plant and what to grow,
What to press and what to sup,
And when to say, 'Something's up!'.
Who watched what killed the diners did follow suit,
Ignoring evermore that particular funereal fruit,
Yes, we owe a debt of gratitude to the pioneer dead,
And not just for things we have all come to dread.
For they had a profound effect on our etiquette, it is true,
As in our table manners, hence 'You first',
'No, please, after you'.
Poetry by Christopher Fernie
Read 710 times
Written on 2016-08-22 at 11:52
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For the pioneer dead
It's easier now to heed the signs,To recognise Death's designs:
The foul fungi in a fairy ring,
The scorpion's crooked sting,
The plant's lethal bloom,
The water's taste of doom.
We see and know the score,
One false step, one blundered bite,
We pass through Death's door
Into everlasting night.
But in the cold light of day
We should remember those
Who paved the way,
Women and men unknown,
Once alive, now bone,
Adams and Eves all,
Whose deaths are on Fate's roll call;
They were the precocious pioneers,
The ones who had no natural fears,
Experimenters with food and drink,
Those who did not stop to think.
Without them we would not know
What to plant and what to grow,
What to press and what to sup,
And when to say, 'Something's up!'.
Who watched what killed the diners did follow suit,
Ignoring evermore that particular funereal fruit,
Yes, we owe a debt of gratitude to the pioneer dead,
And not just for things we have all come to dread.
For they had a profound effect on our etiquette, it is true,
As in our table manners, hence 'You first',
'No, please, after you'.
Poetry by Christopher Fernie
Read 710 times
Written on 2016-08-22 at 11:52
Save as a bookmark (requires login) Write a comment (requires login) Send as email (requires login) Print text
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