I saw a peacock with a fiery tail
I saw a blazing comet drop down hail
I saw a cloud wrapped with ivy round
I saw an oak creep upon the ground
I saw a pismire swallow up a whale
I saw the sea brimful of ale
I saw a Venice glass full fifteen feet deep
I saw a well full of men's tears that weep
I saw red eyes all of a flaming fire
I saw a house bigger than the moon and higher
I saw the sun at twelve o'clock at night
I saw the man that saw this wondrous sight.
Anonymous.
This is a kind of puzzle poem, a sort of lesson on the importance of punctuation. As you can see, it only has one period. But if you punctuate it with a period or a comma in the middle of each line, it makes perfect sense. ("I saw a peacock. With a fiery tail/ I saw a comet. etc.) It seems to date from the 16th or 17th Century. But the images that are generated are visionary.
"Pismire" is an old word for ant. The picture is actually of a Russian firebird, but fits well, I think.
I saw a blazing comet drop down hail
I saw a cloud wrapped with ivy round
I saw an oak creep upon the ground
I saw a pismire swallow up a whale
I saw the sea brimful of ale
I saw a Venice glass full fifteen feet deep
I saw a well full of men's tears that weep
I saw red eyes all of a flaming fire
I saw a house bigger than the moon and higher
I saw the sun at twelve o'clock at night
I saw the man that saw this wondrous sight.
Anonymous.
This is a kind of puzzle poem, a sort of lesson on the importance of punctuation. As you can see, it only has one period. But if you punctuate it with a period or a comma in the middle of each line, it makes perfect sense. ("I saw a peacock. With a fiery tail/ I saw a comet. etc.) It seems to date from the 16th or 17th Century. But the images that are generated are visionary.
"Pismire" is an old word for ant. The picture is actually of a Russian firebird, but fits well, I think.
