A Tribute To A Favorite Professor

This is a poem that I wrote about one of my favorite professors from my undergrad days; it is written in heroic couplets, the favored writing form of John Dryden. The first line of this poem is an intentional pun on the first line of Dryden's poem, Absalom & Achitophel, for reasons that will become clear in the last line. I hope that you will find it enjoyable.


 In studious times, did my Priest-craft begin,

The good doctor’s classes, I found myself in;

In the hallowed halls of a school called Lamar,

In the city of Beaumont, in the state with one star,

Here was I first aware, of what soon-would-be,

A collector’s passion, for the works of the three;

Dryden, Pope, and Swift, the foundation,

For the doctor’s lectures and the student’s elation;

For in these three, the student did find,

Poets with spirits of a similar kind;

Their fiery wit, their passion, their rage,

Their talent, the standard by which others gauge;

All these things did the student inspire,

And awakened in him, a tremendous desire;

The desire, put simply, to understand more,

To think as the three, and throw open the door;

To discover whereof his true talents lie,

Boldly to challenge, and to capture the sky;

 To take those dreams that he once thought remote,

And thrust them again down reality’s throat;

Thank you, good doctor, for showing to me,

The inspiring works of England’s Big Three;

Their influence I feel, with each passing day,

When my craft lies in darkness, their words light the way;

Their greatness inspires the soul of my art,

And helps me remember to write from the heart.

 This poem here ends, at last, but not least,

With my sincere thanks to Professor Dale Priest.