Wittenberg Graduation
by Lionel E. Deimel
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On a gray May day
In Ohio state,
You’re poised, at last,
To graduate.
From Wittenberg,
You’ll be a grad—
Forever marked
A Luther lad.
We first attend
The dining hall,
Where brunch awaits us,
Friends and all.
The ceremony
In the Hollow
Has been rained out,
And so, we follow
Students, teachers,
Moms, and dads
Who’ll, in the gym,
See kids turn grads.
The banners lead
The black parade;
Some prayers are said
And welcomes made.
An author adds,
In prose and rhyme,
Some wise advice
For grown-up time.
Next, guys and gals,
In caps and gowns,
Come forth with joy
And banished frowns.
Then all march out
To stand and wait
For photo ops
To celebrate.
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I spent May 17, 2003, at Lutheran affiliated Wittenberg
University, in Springfield,
Ohio, where Christopher
Klukas was graduating with a BA in English. Chris has been a best
friend of my son Geoffrey since they were in elementary school. I wrote
this poem after the commencement ceremony and read it to a group of
friends and family gathered for a celebratory dinner at a local
restaurant. The last stanza was finished just before my salad arrived at
the table.
For those who attended commencement, no
further explanation is necessary, but, for everyone else, some annotation
is in order. The first event I attended was the Commencement Brunch in the
student center dining hall (nice architecture, mediocre food). In clement
weather, commencement is held outdoors in Commencement Hollow, but, on
this graduation day, there was a constant drizzle. The ceremonies were
moved to the Health, Physical Education, and Recreation Center
(affectionately known, apparently, as the H.P.E.R.C.). Most visitors sat
on bleachers on either side of a basketball court. (I must say that the
contoured, molded plastic bleachers were the most comfortable I have ever
encountered.) The ceremony was largely unremarkable, save for some
distinctly Lutheran touches, but the commencement address, by author
Judith Viorst (Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad
Day), was one of the best and down-to-earth addresses I have ever
heard. Ms. Viorst recited verses from her book You’re Officially a
Grown-up: The Graduate’s Guide to Freedom, Happiness, and Personal
Hygiene and interspersed them with additional comments addressed to the
graduates.
I think Chris appreciated the poem, which is,
of course, dedicated to him. I changed a couple of words of the poem then
next day, by the way.
— LED, 5/18/2003 |
   
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