VOCABULARY

        Abash, Abate, abet, abstemious . . .
        And so began our first-form vocab list,
        Which made us all awhile put up a fuss
        That Mr. Harlow cruelly would insist
        Upon our learning ten new words a week
        While still remembering all of those before—
        Prompting us to rebel in such a pique*
        We took our case to the headmaster’s door.
        Somehow he mollified our wrath, and we
        Complied with that outrageous regimen,
        Not knowing yet its profitability
        For all occasions when we’d wield a pen:
             The SAT was not the least of these,
             Plus all our essays earning A’s and B’s.


        *(No doubt a word we'd learned one wordlist week) 

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