“Let John P. Irish rise!” the edict rang
As when Creation into being sprang!
Nature, not clearly understanding, tried
To make a bird that on the air could ride.
But naught could baffle the creative plan—
Despite her efforts ’twas almost a man.
Yet he had risen—to the bird a twin—
Had she but fixed a wing upon his chin.
Public-domain source text
Ornithanthropos
by Ambrose Bierce
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