The Ultimate Quest

All my life I yearned for the answer, To the king of all questions, Why? Vowing to find the solution before In my beckoning grave - I'd lie. I travelled unto the end of the Earth, And reaching it, travelled on, Leaving reality, a long way behind, In the place where I’d started from. I reached the Land of Universal Wisdom, Where I hoped all’d be revealed, A country seeming to stretch for ever, An onion; with many skins to be peeled. I followed my inner consciousness, Down a dusty winding track, Many had trodden this path before, Sadly, none so far, had come back. I spied the Castle of Ultimate Knowledge, Its walls impregnably made, I sensed my quest's end lay within, Feeling daunted, excited, afraid. Stopping short of the Moat of Scepticism, Where many a faint heart had drowned, I gazed at the drawbridge's towering bulk, And willed it to drop to the ground. The Drawbridge of Opportunity, Slowly lowered, succumbing to my will, And stepping across, I climbed stone steps, To a huge tower, perched high on a hill. A dragon was guarding its doorway, My resolve transformed to a sword, The dragon spewed forth a torrent of flame, But one thrust and it no longer roared. Now only the Great Door of Foreboding, Stood between my goal and me, So I prised apart, the dead dragon's claws And laid claim to the giant gold key. It took all my strength, to turn the lock, But at last the huge door creaked ajar, Was I, perhaps, the first to step through? Had anyone else come this far? The answer to life's great question, Was written inside the door on the ground: "Please leave five pints, and a quarter of cream, And I hope you've got change for ten pound".