The English Teacher

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The English Teacher

 "A silent lover is one who doesn't know his job." - Robert Farrar Capon

“A silent lover is one who doesn’t know
His job;” So I see it my duty to show
The beauty in the way iambics move
 A line, or how a poem's rhythm grooves
Like a bassist hidden in the smoky corner,
Laying down a subtle beat to form a
Foundation for the saxophone-like words
Of the poem, floating out and back and forth
Across the page like music played in ink.

It almost breaks my heart to pause and think
Of those who never "find the time" to get lost
Amidst a snowy wood with Robert Frost,
Philosophize with Wallace Stevens, or mourn
With Dylan Thomas for the coming morn.
“A silent lover is one who doesn’t know
His job,” and as a lover of words, I know
That I must speak to help my students see
The wonder of words, the power of poetry. 

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