In 1784, Ben Franklin developed bifocal glasses. He was getting old
and was having trouble seeing both up-close and at a distance.
Getting tired of switching between two types of glasses, he
devised a way to have both types of lenses fit into the frame.
The distance lens was placed at the top and
the up-close lens was placed at the bottom.
That would have allowed him to read this more recent poem:
My prescription glasses
When I was twelve,
my prescription glasses
rested heavily on my nose,
but through them
the flowers were colourful
and the fireflies were bright.
At sixteen, I needed a change
and new replaced the old
but I hated them sometimes
like I hated my parents
for the punishments and
the curfews they imposed.
Years have passed
and all alone, I sit and reminisce.
My heart missing the prescription
glasses of yesteryears
as I raised my bifocals of today to my eyes.
— Autumn
.
