There was an old man from Downe, Kent
Who found man arose by descent
He said, “This may grate:
But my friends we’re primate,
Give thanks for life’s great accident!”
I’m having fun with this (hey, it’s the weekend and half-term), though I think the affectation affliction will end soon…
Don’t give up the day job, Curry.
Don’t listen to Grant, he’s just jealous.
If you’ve any more verse, then please tell us.
But get the right stress
Or you’ll end in a mess
And make you look microcephAlous.
What day job, Richard? Science is my life…! ;-p
Granted, it may be small Henry, but it’s perfectly formed. Believe it or not I had given some thought to the metre. This is where I had the stresses (in my own head):
There was an old man from Downe, Kent
Who found man a-rose by de-scent
He said, “This may grate:
But my friends we’re pri-mate,
Give thanks for life’s great ac-ci-dent!”
You do have to wrench ‘accident’ a bit to put the stress on the final sylllable, rather than the first (which would be more normal). And should I have the same number of syllables in lines 3 and 4? I’m seriously interested.
This is so ‘open notebook’ – Cameron must be very proud…
The stresses fall into the right beats as far as the metre is concerned, but do not always coincide with the sense or natural accent of the words. The first line doesn’t do it for me, but that’s probably just a matter of taste. ‘Found’ and ‘Primate’ also seem a bit forced. Hey, just ignore me. How about
There was an old fellow of Downe,
Who achieved universal renown.
He said “the direction
Is natural selection,
But I’d rather not say so in town.”
Cheers Henry – see what you mean about the first line but that was what occurred to me first so I was loathe to drop it. But Downe is too forceful just before Kent. I’m still reasonably happy with found and primate – it is a fun form of poetry so I will allow myself a little licence (but shall aim higher next time!)
Good for you!