Aristotle, Aquinas, and Descartes

by Terence Winch

Aristotle poured himself a drink.
His lust was unslakable.  He carried
his books with him everywhere,
even when he travelled to abstract
realms.  He never wore shoes.
His body was out of favor with
his mind.  He ate three meals
a day and called them
truth, experience, accident.

Thomas Aquinas liked to hold
his books open in front of him
as he walked down the street.
People would stop and read.
“Don’t let the unicorns out!”
his books would warn.  He was
deathly afraid of unicorns.
Once he saw God hanging His
wash on the line.  Sheets
bigger than a ship’s sails.

Last, we come to Descartes,
his real name.  I almost doubted
we would get this far.  It’s so late
right now, and people are
expecting me elsewhere.  So
I’ll just say this: Descartes
was extremely muscular.
He could hold up two pillars
of thought simultaneously.