weeds in textbooks

The Scholar as Carp in Pond

“I was swimming through learning all along,
I drew breath from it, blew bubbles in it”
said the scholar who was as carp in pond.

“I drank until full and my mind grew strong,
though I never could quench my thirst one bit.
I was swimming through learning all along.

“I had friends, and lovers, and I was fond
of trivial pursuits, cheap magic tricks.
Cyprinid, the scholar as carp in pond.

“I studied, neglected to maintain bonds,
scaled heights on the desk where I loved to sit.
I was swimming through learning all along.

“I cast back to find the stroke that went wrong;
when my skin became scales, my neck gained slits”
said the scholar who was as carp in pond.

“My eyes glassed over, I folded my tongue,
so mute and benighted I’ll now admit:
I was drowning in learning all along.
I’m a scholar as carp in a small pond.”


© Matthew Joseph Johnson, 2009