Textually Abused
It used to be that English teachers taught
Us poetry by reading it aloud
Or telling us that on our own we ought
To memorize it. In the distant cloud
Of eons past all poetry was set
In memory by bards but maybe no
One else. Our teachers hoped that we would get
A bang from verse, or better, it would glow
For years and years inside our hearts. But now
All poetry is TAUGHT. It’s taught till it
Is killed, is analyzed and parsed until the pow
Is doused with knowledge. Teachers now outwit
The poets pedagogically. What used
To be of beauty now is wisely bruised.