The Blind Men And Their Elephants After All

Tonight we drank Organic Orange Spice.  The internet tells us that in another life this was ‘The Spice Is Right.’ We don’t remember it that way, either.

This is one of those bizarre David’s Tea’s that is billed as one thing and tastes like another.

Supposedly, there’s orange in there. See further the name. It also purports to be a blend of green tea and chai.

We are prepared to grant the chai is definitely in there. If there’s any green tea, not only did we not see it, but the taste doesn’t come through. To be fair, no taste comes through except cloves.

Don’t misunderstand. The taste is lovely. It’s cloves-heavy and cloves mean Christmas to us. But we don’t get any orange out of this. In fact, we misread the title as ‘Organic Spice,’ and candidly, that’s more accurate.

Forget what we said about variety. If ever tonight warranted a poem about things that weren’t what they seemed this is it. And we have just the poem.

The Blind Men and the Elephant
John Godfrey-Saxe

It was six men of Indostan
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant
(Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation
Might satisfy his mind.

II.
The First approached the Elephant,
And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
At once began to bawl:
“God bless me!—but the Elephant
Is very like a wall!”

III.
The Second, feeling of the tusk,
Cried: “Ho!—what have we here
So very round and smooth and sharp?
To me ‘t is mighty clear
This wonder of an Elephant
Is very like a spear!”

IV.
The Third approached the animal,
And happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands,
Thus boldly up and spake:
“I see,” quoth he, “the Elephant
Is very like a snake!”

V.
The Fourth reached out his eager hand,
And felt about the knee.
“What most this wondrous beast is like
Is mighty plain,” quoth he;
“‘T is clear enough the Elephant
Is very like a tree!”

VI.
The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,
Said: “E’en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most;
Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an Elephant
Is very like a fan!”

VII.

The Sixth no sooner had begun
About the beast to grope,
Than, seizing on the swinging tail
That fell within his scope,
“I see,” quoth he, “the Elephant
Is very like a rope!”

VIII.

And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right,
And all were in the wrong!

MORAL.
So, oft in theologic wars
The disputants, I ween,
Rail on in utter ignorance
Of what each other mean,
And prate about an Elephant
Not one of them has seen!

We don’t know what’s going on with the italics, either. It’s bizarre. On the other hand, that’s true of just about everything Godfrey-Saxe writes. Italics are the least of it.