AP in-house Olympics poet Fred Lief tries his hand at recapping the march of nations at Friday's opening ceremony:
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The Greeks go first and they're put to good use
In saluting the games — or is it Zeus?
The athletes march. They cavort and they shriek
From the Cayman Islands to Mozambique,
Country by country, border to border
All in neat alphabetical order.
Australians mug for the cameras and dance.
Look: There's Tony Parker, walking with France.
The guy from Fiji is wearing no shirt.
Check out San Marino: high heels, short skirt.
In one strong statement for fashion and sports
Comes Bermuda's team in Bermuda shorts.
That blazing sky is no supernova
But Russia's flag-bearer, Sharapova.
Onward they march. Can there be many more?
Hey, they're still only up to Singapore
And just when this slog is getting real old
The Brits take the stage decked in white and gold.
Then the night closes and the games begin,
Quoting Sir Paul: Let it out, let it in.
—Fred Lief — Twitter http://twitter.com/fredlief
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