Making My Exit

The line up for our great exodus took hours As we entered the screaming arena vision going white my heart stopped- Just for a second Then it started again full speed as I waved a wave- Not a thank you for coming wave- But a wave of relief As I marched to my seat my steps became longer more urgent I fought the urge to give that professor a hug- And that professor the bird Finally sitting in my designated spot was painful I wanted to run across that big ugly stage and never look back Sitting there slowly picking through the alphabet the pressure started to dissipate- The late nights- The barely making school payments- The overly priced never used textbooks- It was all gone behind me And though happy there was a small sting in that Finally came my three seconds of recognition Walking slowly they called out Summa Cum Laude And for a moment I questioned if all the extra hours– And perfectionism- And fifteenth drafts of an essay was worth it– But I didn’t care because I was proud I walked off that stage and disappeared into the crowd- With something gained I didn’t have before Maybe it was knowledge Maybe it was a higher moral and social etiquette Maybe it was just a damn piece of paper But I did it 3/22/23