Former ones failed and came undone
but through the years of World War One
a better form was patented
with little metal teeth that did
the jobs of buttons, hooks or grippers,
heralding the age of zippers!

Gideon Sundback, nineteen-thirteen,
designed the best zip the world had seen.
Used in uniforms and boots
by US military for their troops,
their popularity took a grip
as everyone liked that slip-sliding zip.