Literacy Poem by Nancy Ames

Just one alphabet,
an imprint on the brain,
and you'll never forget
or be puzzled again.

If you use your head,
you can save your feet;
the mind must be fed
and a book is a treat.

Reading and writing
are private activities,
but mingling's the thing
in your towns and your cities.

The retail and wholesale
of popular cultures:
peacock and nightingale
enjoyed by vultures.

One day in the evening,
you'll want to impart
the frustrated meaning
that's hurting your heart.

Misunderstanding's
a product of fear,
but all happy endings
are perfectly clear.

And something is learned
when professors are fooled
and the children are turned
into the over-schooled.

Don't study too long,
after you're literate,
go totally wrong
and still be an idiot.