MR. BURBANK ALWAYS COUNTS TO TREE...
Some people are very well suited
For the study of plants, deeply rooted:
Whenever Luther Burbank got ill,
His veins got clogged with chlorophyll.
His limbs were somewhat mechanical;
But his heart was totally botanical.
He retired in a town called "Santa Rosa."
Was that by accident, do you suppose... uh?
Let it be said to Luther Burbank's memorial
That the advice he gave was always arboreal.
"If you're wondering," he'd say to anyone near,
"The Lombardy is very Poplar this year.
But if you're drinking a Rosé wine,
May I recommend an audacious but subtle Pine?
On the other hand, if you're feeling papal,
You might try the Vatican Maple.
Some folks prefer branches in the fragile realm,
And so they correctly choose the Dutch Elm.
But for a tree to give a fair shake
During a 5.7 earthquake,
The aspen can be most entertaining...
At least that part that's still remaining."
Once, while visiting wise Persians,
He had his fortune told by tree surgeons:
"Luther Burbank, you will die in California,
And millions of deciduous trees will mourn ya'.
SORRY, I REFUSE TO WEAR BRITISH TOGS...
Gandhi was born in India,
Where he gazed for hours at a zinnia
Before becoming skittish
At the idea of remaining British.
He squinted through wire-rimmed glasses
While taking a bare-footed stroll:
So that is why the Indian masses
Called him "Mahatma" ("The Great Soul").
The struggle for India's independence
And vitality
Had to start with his life of abstinence
And spirituality.
"Be gentle, and you will find,"
Mahatma would insist,
"That with the proper set of mind,
You can passively resist."
Gandhi taught a lesson that inspires:
One of the prime ingredients
In breaking away from empires
Is civil disobedience...