Dear Education
We calculated the level of stupor
By the math of his empty beer bottles
His syllabus
A thesis of childhood confusion
Each startling slap
An astronomy of stars
The coarse language once foreign
Wove itself into everyday usage
Reluctant scholars
We majored in a mother’s tears
Quickly discovered
The inner geography of shame
The chemistry of toxic
Explosions
We graduated on our own terms
Leaving for a variety of higher learnings
Dragging our transcripts with us
Like scars of enlightenment
In later life, he turned a quiet savant
Consumed by his rigors of research
14 thoughts on "Dear Education"
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So perfectin couplets.
Trauma and escape, as we so slow the pace and our each healingprocess.
Whoa! Second to last stanza
Gold.
“Dragging our transcripts with us
Like scars of enlightenment”
Perhaps this should be titled “Bad Education.”
Congrats on the alchemy here, transforming something rotten into poetic gold.
the poem moved me, Sylvia. the education metaphor, (even some of the language and short declarative lines) resonates with the loss of innocence in Blake’s Songs of Experience
Beautifully done!
“We majored in a mother’s tears” was a beautiful line. And as Coleman said, “Dragging our transcripts with us\Like scars of enlightenment” is such a potent stanza and tells the tale on its very own. Wonderfully crafted, Sylvia!
I agree Sylvia, and these are my favorite lines!
I echo what everyone said:
Dragging our transcripts with us
Like scars of enlightenment
The inner geography of shame
This makes me cry, Sylvia, and I agree with Kevin. I can’t chose lines I especially like here because they are all gems.
Profound poem. You capture the paradox of education in classical fashion. Do deep “Majored in a mother’s tears.”
The couplet form lends itself to pulls of the heart.
The last two lines are a fascinating twist, perhaps sad. Amazing portrait of a life.
I, too, could write every line as a favorite. My favorites of each of your couplets’ pearls are:
“We calculated the level of stupor/By the math of his empty beer bottles”
“Each startling slap/An astronomy of stars” (described perfectly)
Oh wow, this one is powerful. Every line carries such weight
Profound. Heartbreaking. Absolutely gorgeous writing. You transform education completely. 💜
Brilliant development of a metaphor!