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What do I take from the reading of this poem?
Not much, I blush to say.
I fail to get it.
But I admired throughout
the poet's use of "-ere" rhymes,
whether they were internal
or in a formal scheme of line endings.
Sphere, she said, and hear,
And fear, and maybe year.
Or I'm making that up as I mimic the spelling game
I played with six-year-olds:
If h-e-a-r is hear,
then what is g-e-a-r-?
I resist the wicked temptation
to spell b-e-a-r.
I agree with George Bernard Shaw's insistence
that English spelling is not a piece o' cake,
For us to know its ins and outs
requires at least the years from K through 12,
plus patient teaching
and a fair amount of homework.
Shirking study may lead to failure.
Along the study lines of our lives
we take on rough, tough, through,
thought, and even the Slough of Despond.
Having mastered these,
we glory in our superiority for
lo! those many middle years
until the day our mind reminds us
not to concern ourselves further
with such trivia.
There's more to life than spelling.
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