And who is the Rev. Xmos? He began as Kevin Yeh and Jon DeVilbiss in the spring of 1989. The first Poem of the Day was written by them, using the Macintosh desktop publishing program Print Shop, and said:
Flowers are nice.
They don't smell like rice.
They look very sweet.
So don't smoosh them with your feet.
Since then, the Rev. Xmos has written about such varied topics as the Science Fair, the annual sophomore class trip to Wallops Island, the work of Geoffrey Chaucer, and Mr. Bunday. One of the classic Poems of the Day comments on Albert Camus' novel The Plague:
Camus writes about Sisyphus's woes,
Invalids, strangers, and lancing buboes.
Xmos writes about asphalt, spleens,
Functional math tests, maladjusted teens.
Xmos's poems are written just to be erased,
Camus continued, although lacking in taste.
So which in fact is more futile or absurd,
Xmos's verses, or Camus's word?
Since its inception, many people have contributed to the Poem of the Day. Its popularity has grown to the point that its creators have even begun to sell merchandise. Thirty "Xmos University" T- Shirts were ordered this spring, and twenty-seven were sold in a week. Thanks to the records of the Scribe of the Poem of the Day, a book of Poems of the Day has also been printed. This book also includes various essay, several biographies of the Rev. Xmos, and scads of information about Xmos University. Copies are available from Mrs. Wisniewski.
Because the regular poets, Kevin Yeh and Jeff Hostetler, and the scribe, Aaron Greenhouse, have graduated this year, two poets and a scribe from the lower classes have been chosen to replace them. They will try to contribute the same fresh, lunatic Magnet perspective that the Rev. Xmos has imparted for the past four years.
Reprinted from the Principia Magnetica, Vol 7, No. 4.