Hello Class of 2025

hello class of 2025

hello class of bleary-eyed scholars

hello class of masked wisdom, of disguised blessings

hello class of unsettling change

the world has asked much of you this year

and it’s no good pretending otherwise

you’ve been thrown upon the cliffs

lovely Andromeda

and i wish i could give you a Perseus

to save you from

a thousand sea monsters nipping at your toes or

perhaps swallowing you whole?

now you have demons you couldn’t even name before

and it seems like everything is

loss, loss, loss

at first you hurled yourself against this acidic existence

and picked off your scabs,

ignoring the new ones forming just

a second later

ignoring your

loss, loss, loss

but what did you gain?

did you gain anything at all?

some simple things?

or lovely things

or horrid things

or an appreciation for the

brutality we exist in

a reality that changes without care

but a reality you can survive

and finally everything became familiar again

strawberries taste like strawberries

and not the sting of disinfectant

laughter rings out like laughter should

no longer stifled by the gargle of poor internet connection

grass is greener on the other side

you hope you’re seeing the other side clearly now

but this change was not due to some

loving fairy godmother

it was you

standing stark like a deer in the headlights

you,

as stubborn as the roots of a finely weathered tree

you,

as relentless as a thawing spring river

you,

throwing yourself endlessly against change

yes, you’ve lost

and that loss is still there

lingering, slithering into your sunshine, rotting your fruit

it’s no good pretending otherwise

but who you are now

is not the same person who lost, lost, lost

don’t pretend otherwise

welcome to your new life

of ever shifting change

goodbye class of 2025

you’ve made it

today, yesterday, and tomorrow

that simple fact

is enough

Cover Photo Source: West Side Story