What In The World ...? -- Verse Case: A Little Doggerel Goes A Long Way In Kiribati

Never underestimate the power of the written word.

For instance, Daniel Wilson conquered a country with a poem.

Wilson, a British student, told the London Times that one day in a dentist's office he saw a magazine spread about the Pacific nation of Kiribati. He was so moved by the beautiful pictures of the place that he wrote a poem about it.

Here's the poem:

"I'd like to live in Kiribati

"I feel it is the country for me

"Writing poems for all the people

"Underneath a coconut tree."

According to Wilson, he sent this poem off to Kiribati, where government officials were so pleased that they offered Wilson the post of poet laureate.

The country comprises 33 islands with a total land area about four times that of the District of Columbia, spread over a 2,000-mile swath of ocean where the equator meets the international date line. The islands include Christmas Island, discovered by Capt. James Cook, and Tarawa, the capital and scene of a fierce World War II battle.

Wilson said a salary as poet laureate was not discussed, but the government did say it could arrange a place for him to stay if he wants to visit.

"Nothing will keep me from going there," the Times quotes Wilson as saying. "I am already saving for the fare."

Isn't life grand? One minute, the guy's a lowly student in need of dental work, the next he's the Alfred Lord Tennyson of the South Seas.

Roger Bloom's column of travel humor and information appears frequently in Travel.