THE STORY A PROFESSOR TOLD ME

A story my professor told me,

A new way of life, it showed me;

Those who are wise will hold this,

For every man needs to know this.

And so he said to me:

A man came to him in need,

Sir, I need your help to feed:

My dear sir, please...

But this wasn't the first,

And surely won't be last,

Professor thought to himself:

We can't keep doing this.

And, so, Professor said to him:

I, as well, I am in need,

You see, my car, I need to clean,

And you, you need to feed,

Can we consider it a deal?

And the man thought it wise a thing.

Indeed, it was wise a thing;

To be paid as much as kings—

Where do you find such a thing?

Wise, if you know what that means!

As the man washed Professor's car,

Some also needed to clean theirs,

So the man washed their cars,

And also cleaned his scars,

For a beggar's soul is scarred.

Now, he doesn't need to beg;

The wise will learn a lesson,

In a story filled with lessons.

A word is enough for the wise,

Or for those who want to be wise..

Tokede Opeyemi Iyanuoluwa,

Lagos State University.