Ballad of the Octagon

Once there was an Octagon
In love, so it would seem;
For when the Circle girl came 'round
His face, oh, it would beam!

The Circle girl was curved all over
Uniformly, everywhere!
No rough corners could be found;
If there were he wouldn't care.

Then one day he saw the girl
walking with a Square!
"How can you do that?" he said,
He said, "How could you dare?"

"Look," she said, "for it is simple.
A regular polygon is he.
His sides are great, his angles right,
He's full of symmetry."

"But you," she said, "just look at you!
Your sides are all the same.
Your angles, though, are all messed up ---
Go hang your head in shame!"

As he left that fateful day
He said, "That Square will flop!
I'll be a regular Octagon
So at me he'll have to stop!"

He pumped, he pushed, he stretched, he pulled,
He walked, he jogged, he ran;
He got himself in shape again
To carry out his plan.

Then he saw her once again,
He thought, "This will be fun!"
"Look at me now," he said with pride,
"Look at what I've done!"

"You are much better," said the girl,
"Much better than the Square!
But you're still not the best around,
To Parallelogram you can't compare."

"Beating him," she said, "you cannot do,
To try is of no use;
He has two angles, so, a, cute,
But yours are so obtuse."

He walked away even before
The words had left her lips;
But disappointment didn't last long ---
That night he met Ellipse.