The Invention

It started as a germ, a little worm of an idea,
Quietly nagging at his mind
For days and weeks it would not go away.
"This might just work" he thought.
"Don't be a jerk" they said
"Go away and think again"
But still it stayed inside his brain.

It grew, became a few disjointed thoughts,
That had no form a foetal mass before it's born.
Nurtured in its mother's womb.
No outward sign but over time
An all-consuming endless line
Of questions asked, and answered too
The theory points to something new.

But still the idea grew and grew.

Then POW! And how
The inspiration comes to him
No nagging doubt he shouts it out
"That's it I've seen the light"
He writes the finished theory down
And sits exhausted looking round,
Happy in the afterglow
Of what he wants the world to know.
A source of heat and light for all
He dials the number, makes the call
Trembling as he spreads the word.
He's feted, given rave reviews
His face is worldwide on the news.

As time goes by he's still the toast
Of everybody coast to coast
And yes it's fun to be the one
That tapped the power of the sun

Another germ a little worm
Of doubt inside his mind
The tiny voice becomes a scream
This is not what at first it seemed.

As yesterday we thanked the one
Who tapped the power of the sun
Today we know that we were wrong
This man had made the atom bomb.