26 June 2012
"Salutations, my dear citizen!" Proclaimed a bass voice loudly. "Might I be so heady as to place a request To squat mine self close to thee?"
Raising his head, turning his gaze, The man on the bench was confused. "Er, help yourself..." he replied, As the space was not being used.
"Most gracious you are!" the voice boomed again, Inclining its derrière. Once ensconced the voice grinned, chuckling aloud, Caressing its elongated hair.
Feeling slightly afraid the man slid away, To the other end of the bench. His face drained of colour, turning pale yellow, And his hands on his paper did clench.
"Come now, dear fellow, why so aghast? I mean no menace to you, no! Let us relish the sun, bask in its glory, Spend our day totally al fresco!"
The man shook his head without a sound, His response was crystal clear. Sadly for him, this was exactly the response That the voice had intended to hear.
"Ah," cooed the voice, soft and low, A noise inhabited by glee. "You don't converse much, do you man? We should expand your vocabulary!"
The man cleared his throat with a little cough, As if he meant to protest- "Nay, I shall not hear it man!" The voice cut him off in detest.
"Now then, die erste Lektion sein wird - that was fluent German you see - is that you must speak many languages; I myself speak forty-three!
You must also converse with clear diction, As your speech is impeded by slurs. Well don't look so miffed, dear fellow! Don't you wish to speak rhyming verse?"
At last the man found his courage, And stood up, tall and proud. He faced the voice, opened his mouth, And roared defiantly out loud:
"Not everyone wants to be like you, With your wicked silver tongue. What gives you the right to be the boss, To treat us like we are dung?
How should the hungry ask for food? How should the afraid pray? The words are not the important part; It is the meaning that you convey."
Hurriedly the voice rose from the bench, Its long hair all a-quiver. It span on a sixpence, and cried as it ran, "I've become such a lily liver!"
The man smiled quietly to himself, Watched the voice till it was out of view. The lesson the man learnt that day, Is also one for me and you.
His words may not have been pretty, They may not make a great song, But the man was still true to himself, And for that we can never be wrong.
The Lesson • Opuss № I