Are you betting on tortoise or hare?
Sparsely staged, old prairie inclined.
Defender's speed seems grossly unfair.
Speed soon leaves the tortoise behind.

Tortoise rues tasting the hare's thick dirt.
(Wanly sighs with a chill, as the fleet hare does scream.)
Partly caged, so squarely behind.
(Pacing is spare, slow on untested ground.)
Without no steam nor speedy bursts,
(Anxious with dread throes, the tension is mountin'.)
Scents defeat, the rude, shovin' kind.
(Creeps on with care, an unvaryin' crawl.)

Yellers root blindly from acres of stands.
(Some imbibing on swill, and drinking with glee.)
Harshly rage, so merry with wine.
(Sloshingly bray distillery cheers.)
Between the malt liquor and the cheap brands,
(A stroller gleams, demolishes a tun.)
Men believe the truth of the rhymes.

Svelte hare slews leapin' in a thicket of heather.
(More mellow, craving the sparklin' medallion.)
Smartly waged, so tarries, unwinds.
(Several orders of hours to kill.)
And he blathers and falls on a clump of feathers.
(Time is right for a pause, brain longs for noddin'.)
Then he sleeps, a snooze just sublime.

Were you betting on tortoise or hare?
Sharply gauged, so wary and primed.
Defender sees who won this affair:
He trudged in from too much behind.