The finals of the National Poetry Contest
last year came down to two finalists. One was a University of Alabama Law School
graduate from an upper crust family; well-bred, well-connected, and all that goes
with it. The other finalist was a redneck from Auburn University in Alabama.
The rules of the contest required each
finalist to compose a four line poem in one minute or less, and the poem had to contain
the word "Timbuktu."
The Duke graduate went first. About
thirty seconds after the clock started he jumped up and recited the following poem:
"Slowly across the desert sand
Trekked the dusty caravan.
Men on camels, two by two
Destination-Timbuktu."
The audience went wild! How they
wondered could the redneck top that?
The clock started again and the redneck sat
in silent thought. Finally, in the last few seconds, he jumped up and recited:
"Tim and me, a-huntin'
went.
Met three whores in a pop-up tent.
They was three, we was two,
So I bucked one and Timbuktu."
