(Or Goethe for the Times) <br />ONCE long ago lived a Flea <br />Who kept such a fine, fat King, <br />Not that he held with royalty, <br />But more for the appearance of the thing, <br />And gave his Majesty to hold <br />(Such pageantries are far too few) <br />A sword of ruby-hilted gold <br />That possibly might hack a cheese in two; <br />But lest this glory might begin <br />To prove the regency too far, <br />His thunderbolt they made of tin, <br />And changed his godship for another Star. <br />Thus when the Monarch drove abroad, <br />With stars like buttons round his chest, <br />God-fearing Fleas would all applaud, <br />And alien Lice be grudgingly impressed. <br />Such relics every Flea must flaunt, <br />If only as the final trump <br />That mocks Materialism's taunt, <br />Proving there's more in life than Suck and Jump. <br />Once long ago—but not so long— <br />A King went curing scrofula . . . <br />The chorus of this charming song, <br />I'm told reliably, is Ha, Ha, Ha.<br /><br />Kenneth Slessor<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/mephistopheles-perverted/
