REALLY QUITE AWFULLY QUIET

Quite surely, now, it isn’t right
How pupils are not told that ‘quite’
Means ‘rather’ or ‘a little bit’;
Which, to mean silence, doesn’t fit. 

I really want to start a riot
To get them teaching ‘still’ is ‘quiet’!
If one should find a peaceful spot
And call it ‘quite’ – it is quite what? 

It seems that many teachers might
Tell rowdy pupils to be ‘quite’;
Quite wrong; so they should therefore try it
With pronunciation ‘kwai-yit’! 

Though ‘quiet’ always means ‘be still’,
From ‘quite’ one can become quite ill
‘I’m quite annoyed’ means not too much –
But ‘he’s quite mad’ means fully such! 

The tone of voice can let one know
Which meaning that you want to show:
Said loudly, fast; or softly, slow;
A lot or little? Yes. Quite so!

© Colonialist August 2012 (WordPress/Letterdash)