It's not a place as rich or steady as
You might suspect from stories, which is odd,
But understandable in one that has
Been shaken down by Government and God.
As sound as hearsay made it sound it was,
Its structures and its finances were flawed,
So both were rather rattled by their foes
When quake and regulators dealt their blows.
It's getting better now, they say, although
It's slow, but even though a place of learning
Takes time recuperating from such woe,
Such matters matter not to the discerning.
Its heart is not the buildings, or the dough,
But what keeps its constituents returning;
The lure of knowledge, with its many pleasures,
As well we know, as hoarders of its treasures.
Originally published in SUL News Notes, June 17, 1994.
c 1994, 1995 Fleabonnet Press for the author.