TRULY TEARFUL
Dijon’s pleurants weep, not for grief but shame,
which rests where missing mourners rest today,
for counterfeits are losses just the same,
as blended Beaune or bogus Beaujolais.
Purists, like Rheims’ jackdaw, must mind that gin
now set for those who cannot see that twice
times copied tears are just as much a sin -
though half a thousand years has raised their price.
As ’cross the world wash wastes of conjured Coke,
let all recall that those who wept tears first
tasted their salt in truth, unlike that bloke
whose medicine just ministered to thirst.
Though John’s and Cleveland’s copies seem sincere,
it’s wise to check for fakes around one’s bier.
|