I wish people would stop saying "Da Vinci" when they want to refer to Leonardo. It is like saying "Of Vienna" if they want to refer to Sigmund Freud. --Rudolph Arnheim, in Salmagundi
Of Hannibal invented Huck
and took us where he rambled.
Of Malaga made paintings with
the people's faces scrambled.
Of Bern said, "E is MC squared."
(I'm not sure what he meant.)
Of Plains worked hard and grew to be
a great ex-president.
Despite his nine grand symphonies,
Of Bonn saw life as dark.
(The light bulb was invented later
by Of Menlo Park.)
Morality Greek hero, sly
Of Ithaca was vague in,
Unlike great fairy taler
Of Not Far From Copenhagen.
Of Corsica ruled Europe, but
was torn by inner tensions,
His life a tragedy of
Of Stratfordian dimensions;
Depressed in exile, he would hum
Of Salzburg's Requiem,
Or, thinking of his downfall, mutter
"Oh, Of Bethlehem!"
first published in Orbis