A deadline is a dead line
A report, an article
Adverb, adjective, ah fine
A preverbal particle

Translating an ancient text
Sounds like fun, a fairy tale
Copying, parsing, what's next
Prefix, infix, head or tail

Monks wrote on velum pages
Ink and feathers, black on white
Composing books took ages
Long hard labour, day and night

But this monk didn't get a mark
He could quietly work on
From sunrise till it was dark
Years it took before 't was done

Have to hurry, analyse
That ancient text tomorrow
One letter, a mark, your prize
Or suffer disgrace, sorrow