Hart Poem In the summer of 1990 four faculty members formed a committee to write the University of Chicago physics graduate candidacy exam for the coming fall. Simultaneously, the students to be examined began to study and to get nervous. The same thing happens every year in physics departments throuought the world. Only two things distinguished this occasion from the others. First, all four faculty members on the committee had names starting with W. Second, one of the physics students being examined was a talented poet named Philip Hart. The result of this fateful conjunction was the poem below...

T. Witten 8/96 with corrections from Mr. Hart.
More can be found on Mr. Hart's home page.

Winstein, Wah, Wiedenbeck, Witten


t<<t0
We were wild, wanton, without worry - walked, waded,
Watched waterfalls, wooed willowy, winsome women,
Woke, worked without willpower whenever we wanted -
Welcomed weekends with wide wallets -
With wine, we were witty, whimsical -
We were warm, well, wonderfully without want.
We warbled:  Why worry?

t<t0
We were warned; we worried.

t<t0
We worry; we work wishfully.

t = t0
We're whirled will-less, wildly, worthlessly writing,
Witless, wounded, whipped, webbed with welts.
Weakly writhing, weeping, whimpering, withering.
Warped, wrathful wardens wield wicked war-weapons - 
Whack!  Wham!
Wrong!  Wrong!  Wrong!

Wednesday: world's worse.

t>t0
Winnowed washouts, we work wherever - Walmart, Woolworth's
Wendy's waiters, wiping windows, washing, wearily weeding.

t>>t0
Welfare. Wantads. Windchilled, wintering wrapped with wastepaper.
Wretched, wasted, woegegone winos, wastewater wallowers.
Wormwood.
We will wonder why.
Wizened wheezing whiplashed wheelchaired worms,
We will wail, "Winstein, Wiedenbeck, Witten, Waaaaaaah!"

Wphilip Whart
1990