Grace Unto Thee

Shall I tell you what once a man did say?
“Fools esteem, yet sane sapiens okay.”
I looked at him with both eyes in amaze;
impressed was I the way he turned a phrase.
A lot of people find it hard to cope;
(apologies to Alexander Pope.)
Fools admire, but men of sense approve;
fresh are expressions--new words make them move.
“Okay,” said I to man with wordy tongue:
“Are you complete, or have you just begun?”
Then he who looked as if he swallowed birds,
said, “Let me rearrange a few more words.”
He spoke while holding up a bony thumb:
“Respect is the female offspring of dumb.”
(Ben Franklin must be turning in his grave;
  oft times a winding tongue will misbehave.)
I looked at him with pizza on my plate;
a gaunt old man with phrasing as a trait.
“Ben Franklin’s quote,” I said, “Which you made new;”
“however, using dumb is rather rude.”
“Yet I like sane sapiens, I do indeed.”
(This qualifier seemed to plant a seed.)
So in the Food Court there was take and give;
a turn of phrase can make expressions live.
A grateful patron in the Court was me;
“I thank you sir,” became, “Grace unto thee.”


26 Lines
Writer’s Cramp Winner
11-16-15
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The two expressions refreshed in this piece are these:

1.) “Fools admire, but men of sense approve.”
    --Alexander Pope
2.) “Admiration is the daughter of ignorance.”
    --Benjamin Franklin