A merry burgomaster <br />In a burgh upon the Rhine <br />Said, 'Our burghers all are <br />Far too fond of drinking wine.' <br />So the merry burgomaster, <br />When the burgomasters met, <br />Bade them look into the matter <br />Ere the thing went farther yet. <br /> <br />And the merry burgomasters <br />Did decide the only way <br />To alleviate the evil <br />Without worry or delay <br />Would be just to call a meeting <br />Of the burghers, great and small, <br />And then open every wine cask <br />And proceed to drink it all. <br /> <br />'For,' they said, 'when we have swallowed <br />Every drop that’s in the land, <br />There can be no more of drinking, <br />It is plain to understand.' <br />So they called a monster meeting, <br />And the burghers, small and great, <br />Drank and drank until they were too <br />Tipsy to perambulate. <br /> <br />But there still was wine in plenty, <br />So, in sooth, the only way <br />Was to call another meeting; <br />So they called it for next day. <br />Thus from day to day the burghers <br />Met and swallowed seas of wine, <br />And they vowed the reformation <br />Was a mission quite divine. <br /> <br />And today the worthy burghers <br />In that burgh upon the Rhine <br />Still continue their great mission, <br />And still swallow seas of wine. <br />And they vow they will not falter <br />In their great reforming task <br />Till the last drop has been emptied <br />From the very last wine cask.<br /><br />Ellis Parker Butler<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/a-satisfactory-reform/
