On the Eve of Graduation

I knew that it would come one day,
In Kenan Stadium in May;
I thought that day was far away,
But now it’s here—
And it’s today—
The end draws near.

There’s something here I cannot name,
That’s left me not quite much the same;
I never thought that when I came
That I would fall—
My heart it claims—
I love it all.

Is it the quad one afternoon?
The bell that tolls loudly at noon,
Telling an end that’s much too soon?
One day I’ll grieve—
In almost-June—
When I must leave.

That day approaches much too fast;
I want to make each moment last,
Before it’s gone, and in the past,
So here I sit—
A campus vast—
The seconds flit.

The blue I’ll wear that day in May,
The truest blue, I’ll always say,
Will bring me back, to here, today,
To Franklin Street—
To friends I’ve made—
And mem’ries sweet.

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written April 6, 2018