To Feynman on his 100th birthday

science

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The Feynman legend, pundits say
Began in Queens – Far Rockaway.
It’s there a boy would stop and think
To fix a radio on the blink.

He grew up as a curious guy
Who showed his sister the night sky.
He wondered why, and wondered why
He wondered why he wondered why.

New Jersey followed MIT.
The cream and lemon in his tea
Taught Mr. Feynman when to joke
And how to act like normal folk.

Cracking safes, though loads of fun,
Could not conceal from everyone,
The mind behind that grinning brow:
A new Dirac, but human now.

In New York state he spun a plate
Which led, in nineteen forty eight
To diagrams that let us see
The processes of QED.

He left the east and made a trek
Until he landed at Caltech.
His genius brought us great acclaim.
This place would never be the same.

Dick’s teaching skills were next to none
When reinventing Physics 1.
His wisdom’s there for all to see
In red books numbered 1, 2, 3.

Always up and never glum
He loved to paint and play the drum.
His mind engaged with everything
For all the world is int’resting.

Dick proved that charm befits a nerd.
For papers read, and stories heard
We’ll always be in Feynman’s debt.
A giant we cannot forget.

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