Appendix Smoothing Format

We wrote out the warning in red,
But altered the ink so it bled,
Into colors so pale,
That the message would fail,
And the clerks slept soundly in bed.

The danger was stated quite clear,
But printed to vanish the fear,
With margins so wide,
The terror could hide,
And the truth simply ceased to appear.

A risk of a crushing defeat,
Was placed on a beautiful sheet,
The spacing was grand,
With a very soft hand,
Making absolute ruin look neat.

They issued a notice of doom,
But hung it far back in the room,
In a delicate frame,
With a whispered-out name,
Like a ghost disappearing in gloom.

We filed the tragedy twice,
But made sure the paper was nice,
The letters so light,
They faded from sight,
And no one would question the price.