Short Academes Poems

That big, elusive doctorate degree,
pretty much like an emperor's decree;

         a kind of fetish that academes require,
         sort of survival kit one must acquire;


within the realm of the university,
part of the myth of tenured security;


         its twin is the rule: "publish or perish,"
         a choice most faculty hate to cherish;

and yet they churn out books with little rest,
paperwork enough to clear a rain forest!...

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