In Defense of the Scholarly

Forgive the intellectuals,
those quiet collectors of understanding,
who move through libraries like gardeners through spring orchards,
pruning confusion and watering possibility.
Their thoughts gather like bright birds on telephone wires,
their questions drift upward like kites seeking higher winds.

One memorizes history's hidden pathways,
one untangles equations like knots in silk thread,
one follows an idea through darkness
the way a miner follows a vein of gold through stone.

They have harmed no one by becoming more knowledgeable and wise;
their only offense is loving the difficult climb.

Forgive them even when their achievements tower high,
when professors, researchers, and philosophers appear
like observatories perched above storm clouds,
or like vast redwoods whose crowns disappear into the mist

.
What intimidates is often only dedication seen from afar.
For far too many, smart is equated with power and money,
rather than with the love of critical thinking that illuminates the human spirit.
True intellect is a candle lighting other candles,
not a throne raised above the crowd.

And in the end, a well-written textbook,

or a consistent laser-like focus on studies in school,
is unforgivable only to ignorant and lazy-minded humans
who lack the motivation to cultivate the intelligence they already possess.