Tuesday, January 27, 2015

An Impossibility



O man is wonderful, of course,
     Can do great things with ease;
Can play a dozen instruments
     Together, if you please.

Can drive a horse o’er hill or dale,
     And hug a maiden tight;
Can drink a cup of coffee while
     He guides a naval fight.

But here’s a thing he cannot do,
     Tho’ scores of him have tried;
He cannot skate upon the ice
     And have a skate beside.



Jan. 27, 1900

(One possible meaning for ‘skate’ here is: a thin awkward-looking or decrepit horse.


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