A Lot About Nothing At All

DesertWords

My long-time friend, Jonathan Paul,
has a lot to say about nothing at all,
opinions and theories, conjectures and more
but he finds that whenever he takes the floor
one by one his friends all recall
the ribbon-cutting at the shopping mall
or the urgently needed telephone call
waiting for them in the booth down the hall.
      And there he stands alone.


The first time it happened he wondered why.
To his queries they offered these honest replies:
Bad luck, my friend.  That's all we can say.
Who would have thought on the very same day
we would all rise at once and sadly convey
our deepest regrets, apologies, too,
for the way we were all abandoning you.
     Emergencies happen, you know.

He's truly a very fortunate man
to have such friends who, when they can,
sit at his feet and hear him extol
the origin and value of a Tootsie Roll,
a subject that's haunted the minds of men
and sent them searching again and again
the journals and ledgers of long ago.
     Intriguing!  That's the word.

So, my very best pal, Jonathan Paul,
who knows a lot about nothing at all,
was recently hired at the Harvard School
where nobody thinks him a blubbering fool
but a rare acquisition of wisdom and grace,
a pearl of a catch for the honorable place.
Perhaps they've not heard him expound and extol
on the merits and value of the Tootsie Roll.
        That's Tootsie Roll 101.

In a year of two I'll hear the news
that Jonathan Paul has paid his dues
and now can sit at the President's right,
a lofty spot for the man who might
convince the world, without a doubt,
that is brain is as big as a brussels sprout.
This is my friend, Jonathan Paul,
who knows a lot about nothing at all.

  • Author: DesertWords (Offline Offline)
  • Published: July 1st, 2020 11:52
  • Category: Unclassified
  • Views: 15
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Comments3

  • ANGELA & BRIAN

    HI DW ~ BRIAN HERE ~ Thanks for a very droll Poem about Jon' Paul & Tootsie Rolls. For my fellow Brits ~ who have not had the Pleasure of visiting USA ~ Tootsie Rolls are chocolate (and other flavours) toffees - 100 years old and produced @ a rate of 64 million each day enough for each American to have at least ONE per WEEK ! I am a BIOCHEMIST and most Academics I have met ~ especially at Prestigious Universities ~ do in fact know more & more about less & less. They often lose a non-specialist audience after the first paragraph ! Such people (as your friend Jonathan Paul) culd write a copius (and boring) Thesis on Tootsie Rolls and edit a Monthly Magazine *Tootsie Roll World* ! There are many such Books & Magazines. Alas do I get hoisted with my own Petard and am accused of writing *Academic Odes* on gripping topics like *PHOTOSYNTHESIS* instead of *Abstract Odes* on *Lethargy* ! Loved every line of your ODE beacuse it rang an all too familiar BELL ! Thanks for sharing !

    Love Peace & Joy to You & Yours
    Brian & Angela & Smokey Cat !

    • DesertWords

      Hello Brian...thanks for your note and comments. Too many people around these days who know a lot about nothing at all...especially here in the US. When you are browsing around on your computer, stop by ShiningSpirit.org and DesertWriter.org , two sites that have been up for several years. My best wishes to you, Angela and Smokey. Roger

    • Goldfinch60

      There have been so many people in my life who could say a lot about nothing at all, and luckily in many cases I too realised that I had an appointment elsewhere.

      Andy

    • dusk arising

      Thank you so much for this piece of pure entertainment. Written in a style which takes me back to my young schooldays when cleverly written verse were read to us.
      I am left feeling i have just been shown how to write an enthralling entertaining well rounded piece with a very cute ending and message.



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