Wilor Bluege
(July 22,2011)
(Click here to go to music and illustrated version on Screencast.com)
A centipede perchanced one day a ballet class to see.
She said, “Aha! My calling true!” as she knelt upon one knee.
“But, gracious me! I have no arms, but fifty pairs of legs!” (**)
“I’ll try to hold, as best I can, my sur le cou-de-pieds!”
A most unusual sight was she in tights and ballet slippers.
The teacher cried, “Oh dear, Oh dear!” and dropped her plate of kippers.
“Oh gracious me, you have no arms, but fifty pairs of legs!”
“Just do your very best to hold the sur le cou-de-pieds.”
The centipede pressed onward to perfect her grand pliés,
Battement tendus, and grand battements and sur le cou-de-pieds.
Though honestly, battement frappé and rond de jambe par terre,
Were nowhere near as difficult as rond de jambe en l’air!
As you can well imagine, for the lowly centipede,
Pirouettes present a challenge, when you have one-hundred knees!
For ninety-nine must be lifted up into the retiré
To spin about upon just one. Hallelujah, hip-hooray!
Glissades can be quite tricky, when you have one-hundred feet!
Closing fifth position front or back, when your legs cannot quite meet!
Imagine, then, what happens when the lowly centipede
Attempts to close her legs in assemblé with batterie!
When things are going poorly, and you’re somewhat perturbed,
No need to get all flummoxed, dejected or disturbed.
Remember the young centipede whose cares were five-times-twenty.
Compared to her’s, you must agree, you really haven’t any.
Think of the struggling centipede whose lonely perseverance,
Against all odds, assured success and gave her self-assurance.
For, thankfully, you have just two, not fifty pairs of legs!
So try to hold as best you can your sur le cou-de-pieds!
** “Despite the name, centipedes can have a varying number of legs from under 20 to over 300. Centipedes have an odd number of pairs of legs, e.g. 15 or 17 pairs of legs (30 or 34 legs) but never 16 pairs (32 legs).” (Source: Wikipedia). Notwithstanding the scientific truth surrounding the enumeration of the centipedian appendages, please allow me poetic license to bend the truth to fit the colloquial name of this group of creatures.
