A Storm in a Tea-Cup

Once upon a time there was a cup of tea, freshly poured.

On the surface of the tea there were some bubbles,

On a bubble stood a man,

And in his hand was a cup of tea.

So protective of his cup of tea was he

That, when the ocean of tea below him shook,

He fell, rather than let his tea be spilled.

For in this tiny man's tiny cup of tea

There is an even tinier, drowning man,

Whose cup unspilt beneath the ocean sinks

So that all the teas are one --

And there will be an infinity of tea.

Explanatory Note:

The poem assumes that the tea was prepared according to traditional British custom, except that, while being poured, the teapot was gradually raised to more than a foot above the cup in order to ensure that some bubbles would survive even after the tea level had settled.

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