The Spoonbill Generator

A gentleman of oriental character       [N ]

Set forth upon a trek to Timbuktu       [F ]

He had upon him seven silver pieces       [N ]

And rode upon a tattered knock-kneed gnu       [Beefy ]

Across the loamy deserts did he roam       [N ]

In search of Abdul's legendary hoard       [Beefy ]

Of crystal beans and cabbages of gold       [N ]

Which in a djinni-guarded cave was stored       [Beefy ]

But sloe-eyed houris and a rajah blocked his path       [F ]

Requiring him to pass a simple test       [Beefy ]

To scatter forth his coins upon the sand       [N ]

Eager to continue on his quest,       [F ]

He gladly paid the tithe and went his way       [Beefy ]

And came upon a caravan en route       [F ]

With carpets, wine and spices from the East       [Beefy ]

And many rare and gladsome things to boot       [Grayman ]

They made him welcome, offered ale and sweetmeats       [Beefy ]

And he received them with a strange delight (trad)       [Grayman ]

He got the feeling they had met before       [(trad) ]

Long ago, on some perfumed Hittite night       [F ]

They drank and talked away the twilight hours       [Beefy ]

At last, the peddler turned to him and said       [N ]

"If you would penetrate the mystery       [Beefy ]

All demanding gods must go unfed"       [F ]

Our gentleman of oriental sentiment       [N ]

Appraised the koan and then abruptly leapt       [F ]

Back on his gnu and headed for the dunes       [Beefy ]

Upon which angels but not clouds have wept       [F ]

A mighty parch soon kindled on his palate       [Kansas Sam ]

In the distance it seemed a lake appeared       [F ]

But when he turned his steed in that direction       [Beefy ]

They found what they both gnu - and both well feared       [Kansas Sam ]

The gates of hell had opened up before them       [F ]

Without a trace of succour to be seen       [Beefy ]

The gnu began to stumble - stumble forward       [Kansas Sam ]

The rider turned a vivid shade of green       [Beefy ]

And suddenly cried out, "Close, Sesame!"       [F ]

And instantly, before his very eyes,       [Beefy ]

From water mist a djinni coelesced       [Kansas Sam ]

And wrote in Arabic upon his knee       [F ]

In fiery ink directions to his goal       [Beefy ]

But our gentleman of oriental 'suasion       [F ]

Could scarce persuade his flagging mount to turn       [Beefy ]

And so, due to such a vexing situation       [F ]

He clambered down and made his way afoot       [Beefy ]

And to this day he journeys, journeys onward       [F ]

The moral of this tale is simply this:       [Beefy ]

Perseverance--yes, simply that one word       [F ]