A Poetry Friday Original: Graduating

May is now upon us. It's time for graduation and the best weather of the year.

I wrote this poem in honor of my graduating seniors. It's written in the spirit of great pride and just the tiniest bit of exasperation. Let me know what you think the last line means. (Oh, and I'm on the roundup this week. So leave me a comment and I'll link up the party throughout the day.)

Graduating

Seniors write at 4 am:
Hey Professor!
My laptop,
My roommate,
My tortoise,
My best friend...

A squirrel on a branch
framed by blue sky,
through leaded glass
stands, hands held high.
This is a stick up, suckas!

5 minutes late,
10 minutes late,
The seniors slink in.
Sorry, Kelly,
the sun, my band.
A final exam.

Every May:
I stand to one side,
tears blink my eyes,
(seriously)
while they march by.

In robes expensive, borrowed, or sewn.
In dresses, in saris, in drag, their own.
I am so proud, watch my students and wave.
Listen to speeches, I hope in the shade.

We did it! We’re off!
To Uzbekistan,
Chile, Lesotho,
or maybe just France.
Those papers, those classes.
Those rooms, and the squirrels.
They’re behind us now.
Forgotten sweet pearls.

Goodbye, old college,
I’ll miss you so. We’re...

Oh wait...

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Coloring sheet image from About: Family Crafts

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Let the wild rumpus begin:

Ruth contributes an original poem this week called "the dance" over at Two Writing Teachers.

Little Willow is in with Versos Sencillos (Simple Verses) by Jose Marti at Bildungsroman.

Elaine Magliaro is here with a humorous children's poem by John Ciardi--"Why Nobody Pets the Lion at the Zoo"--at Wild Rose Reader, and "Consolation," by Wislawa Szymborska, at Blue Rose Girls.

Laura Purdie Salas shares a poem written by a Scotsman hours before his execution, sent in from Edinburgh this week.

John Mutford contributes "Wise Appliance (a found poem)" at The Book Mine Set. (Funny!)

Sara Lewis Holmes shares Alice Pero's "Bad Poem" and starts a discussion on what makes a poem bad at Read Write Believe.

Mary Lee talks changes at work with a little help from Robert Frost at A Year of Reading.

Tadmack is having a great time with pen names and name poems over at Finding Wonderland.

Jama Rattigan finds you can go home again reading Cathy Song's "Leaving" at Alphabet Soup.

writer2be shares Elizabeth Jennings's "Rembrandt's Late Self-Portraits" this week at Findings.

Ruth contributes Sara Teasdale's "May Day" in honor of, well, May Day at There is no such thing as a God-Forsaken Town.

Jill is in at The Well-Read Child with "Insomnia," by Dante Gabriel Rossetti.

HipWriterMama is in with "Let Each Man Remember," by Josephine Jacobsen. She's also seeking your votes on the five-sentence contest, so head on over and cast your vote!

Tricia forgives Shakespeare for a little love poetry because, well, he's Shakespeare! She's in with "Love's Perjuries" at The Miss Rumphius Effect.

Marcie contributes "Boshblobberbosh," by J. Patrick Lewis honoring Edward Lear, at World of Words.

Eisha shares the lyrics to the James Shelton song "Lilac Wine" at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.

Linda, inspired by Tricia's Food Stretch at The Miss Rumphius Effect, contributes two original food poems at Write Time. (They're great, Linda!)

MsMac talks about what she discovered during Poetry Month over at Check It Out. So...check it out!

Cloudscome shares Emily Dickinson's "New Feet Within My Garden Grow" along with a beautiful photo of new vegetation at A Wrung Sponge.

Karen Edmisten talks about creating poetry lovers at home this week.

Last week Sylvia Vardell invited Janet Wong to share a poem at Poetry for Children. Janet did and asked for revision recommendations. This week the revised poem is up! (You can also read all the revision suggestions here. What a great exercise.)

Sarah Miller shares some Hafiz at Reading, Writing, Musing.

Sherry of Semicolon shares a lovely combination of Sara Teasdale, John Milton, and Pablo Picasso--all compiled for May Day baskets.

Tiel Aisha Ansari shares an original sonnet--"Eccentric Spheres"--at Knocking from Inside.

MotherReader contributes an original search string poem. (Funny!)

Alkelda of Saints and Spinners is in with a traditional May Day song sung during 'Obby 'Oss Day in Cornwall.

Lisa combines Free Comic Book Day with Poetry Friday with some super-hero themed poems at Under the Covers.

April Poetry maestro Gregory K. of GottaBook is in with an original poem by J. Patrick Lewis!!! Called "A Sixth Grader Sees the Future," this poem won't be out until 2009. DON'T MISS IT NOW.

Michele of Scholar's Blog is here with Robert Herrick's "To The Virgins, To Make Much Of Time."

James, aka RM1(SS) (ret), shares a short poem by James I, King of Scots.

Becky of Becky's Book Reviews contributes Lord Byron's "She Walks In Beauty" this week.

Liz in Ink shares Marlys West's "Here is the Church" and the story of two bodies.

Sarah (a.fortis) contributes a Welsh poem this week by Hedd Wyn in original and translation at Finding Wonderland.

Charlotte (Charlotte's Library) writes in and tells us she's "in with a lovely poem about gardens, and plants, and being in the world, by Kerry Hardiein."

Suzanne of Adventures in Living shares a poem by Elizabeth Coatsworth, a poet she and her children are enjoying these days.

Miss Erin shares "On My Way Home from School," by Sonya Sones, this week.

Paper Doll contributes a poem by her mother Rebecca Kai Dotlich, from Dotlich's book Sweet Dreams of the Wild.

Kelly Fineman, who always does a fantastic job discussing the structure and origin of poems, is in with Melville's "Shiloh: A Requiem" at Writing and Ruminating.

Lisa has posted Rachel Field's "Something Told the Wild Geese" in honor of a Mama Canada Goose at A little of this, a little of that.

Felicity celebrates Poetry Friday with Robert Frost's classic "After Apple Picking" at Look Books.