"Attention class! Now, settle down,
And listen carefully,
Today I will explain to you
About Relativity."
"Mister Einstein had this theory,
That through the ages puzzled man,
And we find that yet today
There are still too few that understand."
"His Theory of Relativity
Has to do with matter, time, and space,
So, with that in mind, let us begin
To put his theory into place."
"Class, look out the window,
Johnny, what do you see?"
Johnny looked around and said,
"I see a bunch of trees."
"And Sarah," asked the teacher,
"What do you see today?"
Sarah thoughtfully replied,
"I see shade where I can play."
Next the teacher pointed out
Some buildings standing near,
"Mary Louise, tell us please
What do you see, my dear?"
"I see a row of houses,"
Said the pretty, little child,
"Very good," the teacher said,
"Now, what do you see, Lyle?"
Lyle looked intently,
Then shyly dropped his eyes,
"Those are homes with moms and pops.
And little kids that live inside."
"Excellent!" beamed the teacher,
"Now, what else does someone see?"
Excited voices shouted out
Different things in unity.
"I see a flag pole." "I see a flag."
"I see waving stars and stripes."
"I see a yard with apple trees."
"I see red apples, hanging ripe."
"I see a man." "I see a neighbor."
"I see a puppy." "I see a pet."
"I see sprinklers watering a lawn."
"I see trees and flowers getting wet."
"Now, class," the teacher said,
"We're viewing the very same things,
Yet we're seeing them quite differently,
And that's what Einstein's theory means."
"Depending on one's point of view,
Relativity comes into play,
One sees a house - another, a home,
One sees some trees - another, some shade."
"One man may barely see a flower,
Yet someone else is overawed,
"Some men say pish-posh at the mountains,
While others say they're works of God."
"And so it goes throughout men's lives,
A man has his own perspective,
Each one is right, and no one is wrong,
All views are circumspective."
"So, you may see black, while I see white,
And others, shades of gray,
That is man's God-given right,
And we should be glad we're made this way."
"How many years did Einstein spend,
Studying matter, time, and space,
When his Theory of Relativity
Was right there before his face?"
"RELATIVITY's how men relate,
How folks connect with one another,
And it's relatively simple, class,
Men are dependent on each other."
"It's what MATTERS most to men,
That we have learned through TIME,
It's how we face what's in our SPACE,
That's how Einstein's Theory is defined."
"So, class, see how bright you are,
Just look at what you've done,
You've mastered Einstein's Theory,
And have learned Relativity is fun!"
"I wonder if Einstein ever knew
The pleasure that his Theory's brought,
He didn't outwit man, you know,
Just made him stop and think a lot."
Copyright August 2003