free-verse29 lines
Old Stuff
by Bert Leston TaylorIf I go to see the play,
Of the story I am certain;
Promptly it gets under way
With the lifting of the curtain.
Builded all that's said and done
On the ancient recipe -
'Tis the same old Two and One:
A and B in love with C.
If I read the latest book,
There's the mossy situation;
One may confidently look
For the trite triangulation.
Old as time, but ever new,
Seemingly, this tale of Three -
Same old yarn of One and Two:
A and C in love with B.
If I cast my eyes around,
Far and near and middle distance,
Still the formula is found
In our everyday existence.
Everywhere I look I see -
Fact or fiction, life or play -
Still the little game of Three:
B and C in love with A.
While the ancient law fulfills,
Myriad moons shall wane and wax.
Jack must have his pair of Jills,
Jill must have her pair of Jacks.
Bert Leston Taylor.