Wiki Tiki Tavi

 

Openness

Page history last edited by arf 3 yrs ago

At the hole where he went in

Red-Eye called to Wrinkle-Skin.

Hear what little Red-Eye saith:

‘Nag, come up and dance with death!’

Eye to eye and head to head,

(Keep the measure, Nag.)

This shall end when one is dead;

(At thy pleasure, Nag.)

Turn for turn and twist for twist—

(Run and hide thee, Nag.)

Hah! The hooded Death has missed

(Woe betide thee, Nag!)

- Rudyard Kipling

 

This is the introductory poem to Kipling's tale Rikki Tikki Tavi. Red-eye, the mongoose, you may already recognise from the FrontPage. Nag is his foe, the great hooded cobra, who dwells in secret shadow and strikes from them.

 

I first discussed Openness as a meme here. Looking back after eighteen months, I find some things I'd forgotten about, and some things have been picked up independently by others

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