Lines on the Antiquity of Microbes

Lines on the Antiquity of Microbes, also known simply as Fleas, is a couplet commonly cited as the shortest poem ever written, composed by American poet Strickland Gillilan in the early 20th century.

The poem reads in full:

A contender with Fleas for the shortest poem in English was composed by boxer Muhammad Ali. On June 4, 1975, after giving a speech at Harvard University, Ali recited the "shortest poem ever written on what it's like to be as great as Ali": "Me? We!"

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