Good morning children! For this morning's assembley we're going to have a bit of poetry. Unfortunately the poem I had chosen is far too long, and the list would collapse beneath the weight of a thousand failed "Unsubscribe sinister" messages. It was called "Parsley", written by Rita Dove. You can look it up if you like. It's very good, good enough for an uneducated clog-dancing oaf like me to remember it anyway. In the meantime, I have chosen another poem by the same person. See if you can guess why I chose it.... THE ZEPPELIN FACTORY by Rita Dove The zeppelin factory needed workers, all right -- but, standing in the cage of the whale's belly, sparks flying off the joints and noise thundering, Thomas wanted to sit right down and cry. That spring the third largest airship was dubbed the biggest joke in town, though they all turned out for the launch. Wind caught, "The Akron" floated out of control, three men in tow -- one dropped to safety, one hung on but the third, muscles and adrenalin failing, fell clawing six hundred feet. Thomas at night in the vacant lot: Here I am, intact and faint-hearted. Thomas hiding his heart with his hat at the footbal game, eyeing the Goodyear blimp overhead: Big boy I know you're in there. ------------------------------------------ Right, go back to your classrooms - WITHOUT any noise! - and get your sums books out. I don't want to hear any talking AT ALL until playtime. Except for you, Ooon, it's your turn to choose the next poem. Right, file out quietly the rest of you as Mister Smellcross plays "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" on the clapped out piano. Mrs. Bosoms +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list please mail "sinister@majordomo.net". To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to "majordomo@majordomo.net". For list archives and searching, list rules, FAQ, poor jokes etc, see http://www.majordomo.net/sinister +---+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +---+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+