The Calendar

Audio

The ancient Egyptians
Were having conniptions
Because of the floods of the Nile.
They had no way to know
When it might overflow
(Which it does every once in a while.)

When the flooding did stop

They would plant every crop

In the hopes there would be time to reap.

For they harvested manually,

Knowing that annually

Crops could get lost in the deep.

They found it mysterious

The star we call Sirius

Signaled the start of the flood,

For it rose every year

At a time pretty near

To when they all got covered with mud.

Then they studied the moon

And observed pretty soon

It had cycles of waxing and waning.

These took near thirty days

Which a year, cut twelve ways,

Roughly equaled, with five days remaining.

And that was the reason

Predicting each season.

Was one of the calendar’s strengths,

Though it since has been changed

And the days re-arranged

Into twelve months of unequal lengths.

For a while it was Julian.

Gregorian’s truly an

Asset for scheduled living.

In four thousand B.C.

Nobody could foresee

What a valuable gift they were giving.