Author Unknown

"It is strange how a scrap of poetry works in the mind."

Virginia Woolf

The ability to memorize words has always eluded me, especially if there were expectations of reciting them out loud.  To speak spontaneously was my strength, doing impromptu on any stage.  I was at ease speaking to a few, many or crowds.

A very rigid English Literature professor assigned his students to memorize a poem to be shared in front of the class, then followed by his interpretation.  He was well known for his insistence upon students understanding literature through his eyes and never one's own.  The author's reference was artfully overlooked.

It was a dark time for me, and I found myself unwilling to be made a target for the professor's folly. I knew I would not be able to memorize lengthy rhymes, speak with appropriate cadence, nor maintain composure under scrutiny.   So I chose a poem, easy to memorize, and not needing lengthy dialogue to be understood.  As I recall, it is the only piece of work I was able to memorize and recite from heart.  It went like this:

"Come, help flatten a raindrop."  

Author Unknown