Yesterday was the last day at work for my boss. It was hard to say goodbye to him as he was the one who brought me on board when I came back to California from New Orleans many years ago. Harder for him as he had been with the company over 21 years. All the poems I found about saying goodbye were about people dying which was not at all appropriate. However he is a delightful Frenchman (who has never lost his accent) and this is a delightful poem by a Frenchman with just the sort of attention to detail I think he’d appreciate.
This is from More Beasts for Worse Children by Hillaire Belloc. Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc (27 July 1870 – 16 July 1953) was a French born writer who became a naturalised British subject in 1902. He was one of the most prolific writers in England during the early twentieth century. More on Belloc at wikipedia
- The Microbe is so very small
- You cannot make him out at all,
- But many sanguine people hope
- To see him through a microscope.
- His jointed tongue that lies beneath
- A hundred curious rows of teeth;
- His seven tufted tails with lots
- Of lovely pink and purple spots,
- On each of which a pattern stands,
- Composed of forty separate bands;
- His eyebrows of a tender green;
- All these have never yet been seen–
- But Scientists, who ought to know,
- Assure us that they must be so….
- Oh! let us never, never doubt
- What nobody is sure about!
The round-up for Poetry Friday is over at the hostess with the mostess, Kelly at Big A litte a. Next week’s round-up will be HERE!
I do love Belloc. Thanks for posting it. 🙂
I’m sorry your boss is leaving- it’s so hard to have someone leave who makes a job nice.
If you’re working next Friday (and I hope not, but you may be out shopping?), consider using Mr. Linky. He makes it easy for folks to see what’s going on without you having to continually update.
I like your microbial poem. I hope your new boss is as amiable as the one who’s leaving sounds to be.
Yep, I’ve got Mr. Linky all lined up BUT I am OFF ALL WEEK. That’s why I volunteered for that day.
Yahoo!
Expect much progress on VZ. MUCH. (and if I don’t report progress I hope someone gives me a “what for!”)
There will be progress. (Or else.)
TadMack says:
“Oh, let us never, never doubt
what nobody is sure about!”
This would work well for many topics!
Hope your new boss is great… and that you keep in touch with your old boss, even if it’s just a post card now and again. Life seems to short to lose good people.
Fun poem. Love that jointed tongue.
I hope the transition to the new boss is a smooth one.