Our Profession and Other Poems

Teaching requires more than knowledge in Jared Barhite's verse: it also requires a caring heart. The title poem asks teachers to encourage their pupils, including children who are difficult to reach, and treats public education as a responsibility to both the state and humanity. In the preface, Barhite presents the collection as poems gathered over a quarter century of writing poems as a pastime. He hopes they will affirm the dignity and responsibilities of teaching.

The collection also turns toward nature, family memories, and religious reflection. Its dedication thanks the author's mother for encouraging his pursuit of knowledge and truth. In "Rest," weariness, sleep, and grief lead into thoughts of faith and an afterlife. "Success" tests outward wealth against the motives behind a person's actions, while "Fragments" links atoms and attraction with divine power. These shifts give readers both the schoolteacher's public concerns and his more personal reflections.