Elegy for Deception

   for the College of William and Mary

 

The alarm sang reveille

   so I cracked out of bed,

while the cumbersome melody

   echoed twice through my head

 

I inhaled some caffeine

   to make yawning less frequent;

I set out on routine

   sure today would be different.

 

The sky was thick.

The autumn morning missed.

The birds were quick.

(For once, the squirrels weren’t pissed).

 

The joggers were out

   down a cobblestone street—

a roundabout route

   for this spring like retreat.

 

Some overzealous student tour guide

   led a prospective mass around,

with a school spirited sense of pride

   to share a history renowned.

 

I heard some high-pitched wooden flutes

   drift through from right downtown.

Today, for once, the grass was green

   instead of yellow-brown.

 

Petals of a dogwood tree bunch

   streamed years of cobalt sky;

the rightly cause for picnicked lunch

   and classes held outside.

 

Just then the crude wind spoke

   amid my rendezvous

as scents of redwood oak

   and crisp air filtered through

 

I fought the beauty face to face

   throughout my aimless roam;

then stopped and said “I hate this place”

   and justly wandered home.