! ! Science Rewarded Poem by Michael Shepherd

As children, who have made
their first discovery of the natural world
by their own curiosity, rush into the room,
their eyes shining – so that their parents
love them all the more, even before
they tell them of this magic fact –

so scientists; rewarded for their humility
at the end of a long life, heaped
with honours; initials after their name
that no one understands;
the respect of colleagues;
loved by their students;

blessed above all by that golden thing –
the continuance of delight.