A lone eccentric caught my eye today
And asked about a flyer on the wall.
Demurring, I had hoped to sneak away,
But I had missed the moment to forestall.

He claimed that evolution was corrupted,
How scarcity would lead to civil war,
And scientists whose talks he interrupted
To point this out would then show him the door.

I knew that what he wanted was for me
To praise his intellect and perspicacity.
Though for his troubles I had sympathy,
My pride kept me from that desired mendacity.

I said that fiction shares his grave objections;
It seemed to me a natural selection.