Thank you for your kind words and friendship; however, I must take a temporary leave of absence for several months to provide care and support to a friend, out of state.❤️
The Price of Instruction
I watched him yesterday, a man adept,
Who moved toward chaos where a failure slept.
He took the reins, efficient, keen, and cool,
And quickly played the master in the school
Of consequence. His posture claimed the right
To pull the tangled problem into light.
He charted maps and issued strict commands,
The perfect architect with working hands.
The situation yielded to his force,
He drove the outcome down the proper course;
He managed all that needed to be found,
And claimed the victory on conquered ground.
Yet as he built the clarity he sought,
A different lesson cruelly was taught:
He handed aid, but with a subtle sneer,
And made the clarity a thing of fear.
He paid for order with a whispered slight,
Dismantling dignity to prove his might.
The student gained the knowledge, hard and brief,
But left the presence burdened by his grief.
The gift of help became a caustic trade,
Where stature was exchanged for steps he made.
And here the hollow irony resides,
The bitter question that my thinking guides:
How can a person claim the right to school,
To lecture others on the broken rule,
When charity and grace they cannot lend,
And basic courtesy they fail to spend?
It amazes me how easily they stand,
A polished teacher in a guiding hand,
Instructing others where the faults reside,
While self-respect and kindness are denied.
They offer wisdom, sharp and well-defined,
Yet left the proper manners far behind.
The very foundation they profess to build
Is fractured by the rudeness they have willed.
For knowledge, without conduct by its side,
Is merely arrogance where wisdom died.
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Author:
Friendship (
Offline) - Published: October 17th, 2025 04:17
- Category: Unclassified
- Views: 18
- Users favorite of this poem: Paul Bell, arqios, Tristan Robert Lange, NafisaSB
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Comments6
A feeling strongly expressed in this poem. It feels hurt and injured by a rude style. The feeling is well expressed and the rhyme is good. The story flows well in this poem of pain.
Thank you for stopping by and reading my poem.
You are most welcome
Yes, you might be a teacher, but can you teach.
I can recall only one teacher out of about twenty who could make a subject interesting enough to learn, the rest just went through the motions.
Sad reality in education here and by the sounds of it the states too.
Paul Bell, your insight is correct. Can you teach? I believe people think they have the power to belittle others. Yet, in some professions, some individuals take authority to an extreme, proceeding to claim they will teach, when in reality, they are not teaching, but rather judging, making you feel invalid and unable to move forward. Thank you for stopping by and reading my poem.
This is close and deeply resonant to me. It really nails the difference between knowledge and wisdom. I like how it shows that instruction delivered with arrogance can wound more than it helps! The final couplet especially drives home that without kindness, teaching collapses into pride. 🕊️🙏
Thank you for stopping by and reading my poem.
Most welcome, Friendship 🙏🏻🕊️
A huge difference between teaching and preaching, controlling and ordering. Teaching is an incredibly hard job to get right but a very easy job to get wrong. Loved the last two lines, enjoyed the read
Thank you for stopping by and reading my poem.
You are very welcome
My friend, this piece holds power in its poise. You dissect pride and false wisdom without ever raising your voice. Powerful restraint. That closing couplet could hang on a wall...timeless truth, beautifully told. 🌹🖤🙏🕯️🐦⬛
Thank you for stopping by and reading my poem.
am completely in sync with your thoughts - the master needs to be humble when imparting knowledge - but these days what you have portrayed seems to be more in vogue, unfortunately
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