When I first read this poem earlier this morning I saw it not as a poem, but as a comedy sketch by Monty Python on the BBC. John Cleese, dressed in proper British attire, is setting alone at a table in a small cafe eating his lunch when he notices Michael Palin sitting across the cafe.

Dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, Palin is fidgeting with a pencil, perhaps even doodling on his napkin. Cleese is completely unnerved by Palin's "antics" and finally walks across the cafe to demand that Palin stop the figeting. When Palin refused, Cleese grabs the pencil and breaks it in two - then returns to his table to finish his lunch.

d;-)