Page 39 - 2020 Commencement Book

A G r a d u a t e ' s R e f l e c t i o n

BY JOSHUA SKOUDIS
In front of me, a synthetic voice of a silver screen
And a collage of disjointed pixels;
Animations faintly depicting the soul on the other side
From which I drew fear
From which I drew confusion and resentment towards a Circumstance
allowing such vicissitudes.
But amidst the stammering static
And the warped visage before me
Came the words of Calliope
In the same eloquence with which I was once familiar
From which I draw comfort
From which I draw hope for the return of all that I held so dear.
So here, amongst the winding whims of shadows
And the vacant gusts of absurdity,
We sit.
The faces of the clocks on which we spit,
Promising release as we melt back through the cracks in our Walls
To catch the cascading sunlight, the tangling wind and the Secrets they keep,
Secrets we haven’t forgotten
With a memory that perforates the stagnation,
Tracing our faces past the tumbling turmoil of today.
Today, though, quite verily isn’t about today,
We mustn’t run to the tautology
Taunting us with the mire of complacency.
But rather, we run through the field of mirrors,
Etching our identities along the edifice of mortality,
Teasing absurdity with a smile.
And as these cracked corners of my pale lips raise,
I dispel demur and its dirty parlor tricks--
All the discord of Eris and the plans strewn amiss.
But my bliss prevails.
I remember my brothers and the conquests we sought
And the sisters who fought the same,
To bend reality at our wills and pave our prospects.
This smile for which we fought remains as I stare at the Synthetic screen and warbled
voice which it expels
Because I remember my brothers and my sisters.
I wish them beauty, faith and wealth.
Tomorrow, I will shake their hands and we’ll smile just the Same
As we bid adieu to today
And the things we overcame.