Vasco Pyjama sailed around the world
And named the continents in secret code.
Wherever his Italian flag unfurled
He saw his sailors' confidence erode.
(Or was it Spanish?) Once he had a hunch
That China, where he'd just put in to port,
Could be a worthy place to get some lunch.
He'd had enough of cartographic sport,
(Or maybe Portuguese?) And thought the place
Was someplace else. And so he named it Asia.
Not knowing it was just the other face
Of Europe (wait, I've got it -- it's Silesia!)
The shame he felt on finding his mistake
Was more than he could bear. By then the books
Were written. There was no way to unmake
The world. And then the whispers, and the looks!
The rascal Vasco wrecked his reputation
Assigning one too many nomenclation,
And finally, the namer of the land
Died sadly, cruelly, felled by his own hand.
And with him died the secret of the code,
Which has remained, I'm sad to say, unknowed.
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Alysa Salzberg
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Comments
With letters, had no imagination.
A upon A and finally an E
He died of boredom, took with him his key.
( sorry, db - carry on. )