A MAIDEN once, with eyes of blue, And mischief a suggestion, Propounded all her friends unto A geographic question. "Why all degrees of latitude Were longer at th' equator?" Their answers brought beatitude And highly did elate her: For Mr. Smithson talked to her — With knowledge was he sated — "'T was due to a parabola," He wisely demonstrated; And Mr. Whyte, he murmured much Of "radial defections," While Robinson, with dainty touch, Discoursed of conic sections; Then Mr. Browning flowery grew, And filled himself with glory By telling much more than he knew — It was a wondrous story! . . . . . . . . But all sit now disconsolate, And cut a woful figure — They've learned, when it was all too late, Degrees down there @3aren't@1 bigger. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...IN A SWEDISH GRAVEYARD by EMMA LAZARUS TO E. T.: 1917 by WALTER JOHN DE LA MARE DOWN THE MISSISSIPPI: 4. THE MOON'S ORCHESTRA by JOHN GOULD FLETCHER ONCE IN A WAY by ANTIPHILUS OF BYZANTIUM PEARLS OF THE FAITH: 35. AL-GHAFIR by EDWIN ARNOLD |