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Reverted edits by 2601:182:CE00:320:6D0D:F42D:6247:E957 (talk) (HG) (3.4.12)

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{{Short description|Short poem composed by Strickland Gillilan}}
"'''Lines on the Antiquity of Microbes'''", also known simply as "'''Fleas'''", is a [[couplet]] commonly cited as the shortest poem ever written, composed by American poet [[Strickland Gillilan]] in the early 20th century.<ref name=yale>{{cite book|title=Yale Book of Quotations|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ck6bXqt5shkC&dq=%22strickland+gillilan%22+microbes&pg=PA310|last=Shapiro|first=Fred R.|publisher=[[Yale University Press]]|year=2006|page=310|isbn=978-0-300-10798-2|accessdate=30 November 2015}}</ref>

The poem reads in full:

{{poemquote|
Adam
Had 'em.
}}

==Shorter poem==
"Lines on the Antiquity of Microbes" is frequently said to be the shortest poem in the English language,<ref name=yale /> or the shortest in the world.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Shackle|first1=Eric|title=The World's Shortest Poem|url=http://fun-with-words.com/shortest_poem.html|website=fun-with-words.com|accessdate=25 June 2017}}</ref> However, many shorter poems have since been written.

A notable example was composed by boxer [[Muhammad Ali]]. On June 4, 1975, after giving a speech at Harvard University, Ali was discussing poetry on stage with journalist [[George Plimpton]]. When asked for the shortest poem of all time, Plimpton recited "Fleas" as above, and Ali responded, "I've got one: Me? Whee!!"<ref>{{cite news|last1=McDonell|first1=Terry|title=Muhammad Ali, Hunter S. Thompson, and George Plimpton: On the Literary Legacy of "The Champ"|url=http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/06/muhammad-ali-hunter-thompson-plimpton-mcdonell|accessdate=25 June 2017|work=The Hive|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1975/6/9/professor-muhammed-ali-delivers-lecture-poems/|title=Professor Muhammed Ali Delivers Lecture; Poems and Parables Fill Talk on Friendship|first=Richard J.|last=Doherty|newspaper=[[The Harvard Crimson]]|date=9 June 1975|accessdate=30 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LwJCh_q0ZXgC&dq=muhammad+ali+me+whee&pg=PA305|title=Sometimes They Even Shook Your Hand: Portraits of Champions Who Walked Among Us|first=John|last=Schulian|chapter=Ali! Ali! Ali!|page=305|year=2011|orig-year=1998|publisher=[[University of Nebraska Press]]|isbn=978-0803237766|accessdate=30 November 2015}}</ref>

According to the ''[[Guinness Book of Records]]'', the world's shortest poem is a one-letter poem by [[Aram Saroyan]] comprising a four-legged version of the letter "m".<ref name = "can">Kanwar Dinesh Singh, New Explorations In Indian English Poetry, Sarup & Sons, 2004, pp.92-4</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:20th-century poems]]
[[Category:American poems]]

Lines on the Antiquity of Microbes - Revision history

imported>Frost: Reverted edits by 2601:182:CE00:320:6D0D:F42D:6247:E957 (talk) (HG) (3.4.12)