Ode to An F.

Earth drinks autumn rains;

My carpet accepts your tears:

Dripping, dropping, drop.

As the cottonwood

Beside the rain-swollen stream

Unmovèd am I.

Late work; incomplete;

Poor attendance; excuses.

And now, you're weeping.

Grades do not measure

Good intentions or talent:

Only performance.

Birds not migrating

Get caught in the winter's snow:

So your work falls short.

A "D" is sixty.

You gave a push at the end:

Fifty-eight point eight.

If you were a bird

You might have reached freezing rain:

You would not be warm.

"It's only one point!"

"No, my dear, it's one point two.

"Take your bitter herb.

Fall turns to winter;

Seasons change; college terms end:

Too little, too late.

Unmovèd am I

Beside the rain-swollen stream

As the cottonwood.

Dripping, dropping, drop;

My carpet accepts your tears:

Earth drinks autumn rains.