Love in a Rhyme of Collard

  A rockin' snore knocks his head back in his chair, no lollard
Reader, alert again, and reading more, a working scholar,
Dear to students, all smart enough to see their best smaller
When measured by his wise eye, then taller
When measured by his kind voice, " Y'all are
Keeping me on my toes" "Thatsa hunnert dollar
Question phrased with ten dollar words" he'd holler.
His tone down homey m'lasses hard to swallow,
Until he grew Real with family lore of loyalty, squalor,
Velveteen rabbit scholarships, cold donuts, and Mahler.