Open Your Books, Scholars! Poem by Michael Pruchnicki

First day of class in September that year
Mr Duffy pointed to the book on his desk

'Listen up, scholars! That book you see
houses in full all the plays and sonnets
of William Shakespeare, ' he said.

'Think of of it as your first book of literary
treasures in this class from now until the end
of your career as a scholar in this academy!
You and I will make daily withdrawals the way
you might take out money from a bank!
Do you understand? '

Mr Duffy spoke with a brogue although he was bred
in Canaryville, a far cry from the streets of Dublin.
I imagined him as just another narrowback aspiring
to be something he was not - a learned man grown
from a city sparrow scratching for seeds in vacant lots!

By the time June rolled around the corner that year
we were walking encyclopedias of Shakespearean
lore, thanks to Mr Duffy's teaching!