Poem: The Decimal Point Essay, Research Paper

WHEN first sent to School (now the Station was Rugby)

I fancied my masters and took to the boys;

I thought to myself–here ’tis plain I shall snug be

Revolving at last in an orbit of joys:

The Alphabet Grecian I quickly could stammer,

Nor ran any risk of a jaw out of joint;

I waddled sedately through Fatherland Grammar,

But own I was floored by the Decimal Point!

Le Roi de Montagnes was my Gallic translation,

And soon I was praised by my master, who said:–

“I certainly deem that, with good education,

A Scholarship laurel should circle your head!”

I revelled in idioms; I thrilled at the phrases;

I knew how to render “avaunt” and “aroint,”

But own that I shed many tears on the daisies

Of Rugby when stumped by the Decimal Point!