The Ballad of the Camping Detectives

John Watson went with Sherlock Holmes
on some unspecified
adventure where they had to roam
the English countryside.

They walked about the hills all day,
alone except for sheep,
then built the tent where they would stay
and quickly went to sleep.

“Hey Watson,” Sherlock said, “wake up!”
“Nope. Stop. Don’t bother me.”
But nagging Sherlock would not stop.
“Just look! What do you see?”

“A lot of stars out here, I’d say.
Now that’s a proper night.
That’s what our home, the Milky Way,
appears like from inside.”

“Alright, detective Watson, now
deduce from what you’ve seen
conclusions that these facts allow.
What do these stars there mean?”

“Our Milky Way contains at least
one hundred billion suns.
Through gravity, they all are pieced
together into one.
And since the stars have forged the clay
that went into our birth,
we’re children of the Milky Way,
as are the Sun and Earth.”

“Dear John, it’s elementary
that isn’t what I meant.
The meaning of these stars you see
is someone stole our tent!”