Ways of writing
Once I met an old Muslim mason
Who groomed well his dyed beard,
And regretted that soon in graveyard
Would end his only lifetime passion.
It appeared the man was well read
And had a certain sense of humour,
And in the ghetto was rife a rumour:
His ancestor was some noble sayyid.
I asked flippantly the bearded loon,
"Chacha, your customs all unusual.
Eastward when we worship Sol,
You pray west the crescent moon !
When all the rest write left to right,
You chose the opposite direction;
Don't you think it is an aberration
And an inconvenient way to write ?"
Handful of pebbles he picked up,
And began pelting at a lamppost near;
I stood perplexed for it was clear
He could not answer me off the cuff.
Some more pebbles he offered me,
And wanted me my skill to show
But wouldn't allow a forehand throw;
It was the height of irrationality !
Then through his beard did he smile,
"A backhand throw must be easier
For you -- the backhanded writer -
Unlike us, who find the forehand agile."
I no longer write now, thank God !
For I use keyboard and MS Word.
