High Street in Early December

Don't fret for naked trees

Or coming chill.

December's austere mysteries

Have beauty still.

There is an arch revealed by barren limbs

And students hand-in-hand.

Understand:

This image calls for hymns.

A nearer sun would bathe the walls

In vernal gold;

But keep your summers, springs and falls:

The year and spires are old,

And we are young—and these shall always be the same.

Yale needs no leafy frame.

An Overgrown Song for the Middle of the Night

It's nearly four. The sky has long been dark,

And I, like all diurnal folk, should be in bed.

I wish that I could fall asleep—— alas! my tired head

Is overstuffed with prosody and politics and Wondermark.

With sincere apologies for the poor cut-and-paste job.

Another Pearl of Wit

from the Celebrated Dr. Boli.

Q. But if I don’t write down my personal information, how will I remember who I am?

A. For this purpose we recommend some mnemonic device such as a short rhyme. The renowned classical scholar Benjamin Jowett came up with this little ditty:

My name is Benjamin Jowett.
I’m the president of this college.
If anything’s knowledge, I know it,
and what I don’t know isn’t knowledge.

By means of this easily memorized poem he was able to remember, not only his name, but also his employment, and even the attitude he intended to adopt toward his students.