He found a Prime number that
Was so incredibly long
It took hours just to check that
He hadn’t transcribed it wrong.
His discovery had been result
Of such a painstaking search
The fruit of of many hours of
Dedicated, careful research.
He was only a young man
His career only just begun
Pale from lack of time spent
Outside there in the sun.
He looked up from his PC
To see a clear blue sky
Felt the heat on his face
And asked himself why.
The world of academia lost
A mathematician for awhile
As he decided it was time
He changed his life style.
He walked the National Parks
A tent upon his back
Spent many hours wandering
Way off the beaten track.
Feeling rejuvenated
He organised his working day
Into three separate sections
Of rest, work and play
Too much labour
And not enough joy
Could make a person into
A dull and dreary boy.
His search for Prime Numbers
Continued with success
Even though he’d decided
To work a lot of hours less
And because he wasn’t tired
It didn’t take him so long
With a vastly reduced chance
Of transcribing any of them wrong.
They may think it’s esoteric
Study in such an obscure field
But all that time and effort can
Bring many a great security yield,
For use of the Prime Number
Can take any message spoken
And encrypt it in a code
Very unlikeky to be broken
