"Conic Section Carol"

may be sung to the tune of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen")

        

        God rest ye merry ellipses,
        And hyperbolas too!
        Parabolas and circles,
        All curves to degree two
        Degenerate and involute
        The mathematician's toy,
        Oh sections of comfort and joy,
                 comfort and joy, etc.

        Oh symmetry and focuses
        And fun directrices!
        Both smooth and sharply pointed curves
        Can have some vertices.
        To prove this derivatives are such a clever ploy,
        Oh sections of comfort and joy,
                 comfort and joy, etc.