hallway office

when you walk upon a campus
a lovely college campus
and you take a knock emblazoned
on professor's office door

the door will soon swing open up
as if betrayed by magic
the professor will be hunching there
for students' problems tragic

(or perhaps they're working on a theorem
perhaps their console's broad at play
perhaps you've caught sir grand professor
taking a lovely off-time day)

the staff don't say, no no, not here
unless the professor's willed it
they don't tell you, stick it in your ear
and your spirit, well, they've killed it

the point is that i'd like to be
a prof and a person with open door
the qed so square, you'll often see
is that i'd like to tell you more

i'd like to be so interesting
yet where i am, you've found me
i'd like to be so generous
with results i've gotten soundly

i'm still a-studying, in fact
i'm still scribbling and scrying
i'm still typing, tipping, trembling
but professor's never crying

i've got a ways to go, and then
i'll go it all around again
but i'll do it on friv'lous academic time
i'll do it with rigor, now free, all mine