"On the Vanity of Earthly Greatness"

A really short poem for this Friday. I ran across this one (by Arthur Guiterman, a chap I'd never heard of) a couple days ago whilst researching something palaeontological.

The tusks which clashed in mighty brawls
Of mastodons, are billiard balls.

The sword of Charlemagne the Just
Is Ferric Oxide, known as rust.

The grizzly bear, whose potent hug,
Was feared by all, is now a rug.

Great Caesar's bust is on the shelf,
And I don't feel so well myself.