The Alpha-Bestiary
G is for Gilbert,
The goat from Gowana,
Who gambled his gold in Guyana and Ghana.
A missionary swore to save his soul
And make poor Gilbert’s fortunes whole.
Night and day he preached at the goat,
Read him the Bible over and over,
Promised Gilbert a heaven of flowers and clover, ‘Til all his talking wore out his throat.
Gilbert sighed, and inquired the odds
Of a goat like himself ever meeting any gods,
And offered to make the missionary a wager.
G is for Gilbert,
The goat from Gowana,
Who gambled his gold in Guyana and Ghana.
A missionary swore to save his soul
And make poor Gilbert’s fortunes whole.
Night and day he preached at the goat,
Read him the Bible over and over,
Promised Gilbert a heaven of flowers and clover, ‘Til all his talking wore out his throat.
Gilbert sighed, and inquired the odds
Of a goat like himself ever meeting any gods,
And offered to make the missionary a wager.
Gowana is a Native American name for "great." It is a middle school in Clinton, New York. The Co-operative Republic of Guyana (bordering Brasil and Venezuela) received its independence from the UK in 1966. Its name means "land of many waters." The Republic of Ghana (in west Africa) gained its independence from the UK in 1957. Its name means "warrior king," but it was previously known as the British Gold Coast, and gold mining is an important sector in the economies of both countries.
ReplyDelete