When you come into the country
You must be careful what you ask
Of the Puritan girls you will meet there.
Gladly will they fall upon
Every sword they’re given.
You may laugh at them,
So uneducated they do seem.
You see, they know almost nothing
About physics and chemistry,
Of how winds move over the earth,
How currents move in the seas.
They’ve heard little of Mozart,
And they don’t read the reviews on Pitchfork,
Nor do they listen to the albums.
Astronomy, algebra, and Greek myth
They are largely ignorant of.
But if you spend enough time
And ask of them just enough,
You will find that they have an impeccable knowledge
Of human anatomy.
How else would they learn to fall
Each time, just missing all their vital organs
So that they may be fresh and ready
For tomorrow’s impalement?
