December 2017
Lisa Wiley
wileymoz@yahoo.com
wileymoz@yahoo.com
I recently traveled to Pittsburgh with my son, Max, a high school senior, to tour Duquesne University, where he is considering studying. The campus visit inspired me to reflect on how much lies ahead of him and how much he's grown. Here's a poem inspired by those thoughts and feelings.
College Visit
-for Max-
Yesterday, it seems, a nurse handed you over,
instructed me how to feed you every few hours.
A helpless burrito swaddled tight --
I responded to your every movement.
Today, we climb the Old Main stairs,
your varsity jacket, heavy boots leading the way.
Stained glass chapel catches my breath.
How did this trudging giant come from me?
Have I prepared you for November wind?
Will you open doors for female undergrads
on this campus where three rivers converge?
Find shelter in this resurrected rustbelt?
Will you claim this ground as your alma mater?
Son, may you find your own way to the water.
College Visit
-for Max-
Yesterday, it seems, a nurse handed you over,
instructed me how to feed you every few hours.
A helpless burrito swaddled tight --
I responded to your every movement.
Today, we climb the Old Main stairs,
your varsity jacket, heavy boots leading the way.
Stained glass chapel catches my breath.
How did this trudging giant come from me?
Have I prepared you for November wind?
Will you open doors for female undergrads
on this campus where three rivers converge?
Find shelter in this resurrected rustbelt?
Will you claim this ground as your alma mater?
Son, may you find your own way to the water.
© 2017 Lisa Wiley
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