Next Day

Early August, Frog Pond:
a sense of peace & quiet fills the air
unlike any other at this time
of year or even today for that matter.
But this is only the calm before
the oncoming storm: a short while
from now, the whole neighborhood
will be charged up once more,
its electricity too much to withstand
once the sparks begin flying
their way onto campus.

Soon this place will spring back
to life again, the whole scene once more
fair game for one & all. In the meantime
all is quiet, all is serene -
who would want this picturesque moment
any other way? History is already
being made as we speak, documented
& recorded for our own eyes to view
intently.

Welcome home,
the townsfolk say silently, for another year
of making history, making memories
despite & in spite of all the bedlam
& craziness which comes with life
'round here. If that's not enough,
welcome back for another year of
buckling down to find your voice,
your true calling in life.

And yet we ask, will we get the chance
to make history in our own way,
on our own terms?
Will we have the chance to find
our true callings,
leave a lasting mark
on the lives of others?
Is honesty what you truly want?
Well, we will answer with honesty:
around here we will make our marks,
make a name for ourselves.
A short while from now,
that's exactly what we're planning to
go ahead & do. Others tried
to leave a legacy of some kind
but failed miserably in the attempt
to blaze a trail worth following:
it wasn't that their aims were
short of the mark but that their judgment
was wrong to begin with -
beginning & end of story.
As the pied pipers of our day,
we're seeing to it that we don't make
the same mistakes as our imitators.

The moment of truth will soon
arrive at long last, & reality is about
to set in: we will find home once more,
where the heart has always longed
to be from the get-go
& we will get the chance
to make history like none other.