It seems the English got it all backward:
Short teas, and long narrative poems
Until your teeth fell back into your skull
And the sun dipped deep into the Thames.
Whereas, the Japanese knew all along
The correct way, if only you had asked:
Tea, to be correct, goes on for hours
With a strictly regimented hierarchy of serving
While the poetry is an average three lines apiece
But of such profound observation
As to occupy the entirety of the tea time
And even provide material for ensuing dreams.
Patti Masterman
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/it-seems-the-english/
