POEM - Mt.Holyoke College

Oh tough beard of five o'clock shadows,
Of stubble that scratches stoney wall faces
With sinister cheeks and malformed noses -
I am warmed by abundant, swarming ambition.

As if those parapits could protect each detailed plan!
As if they could separate the winners from the losers!
As if they could protect the beating heart of womanhood!
I am warmed by abundant, swarming graces.

Sturdy, giraffe-like spires, prayer as architecture,
Inspire me toward skyward things,
Toward everything that is higher -
This, the pulse of some great, youthful haste.

The pride is like some distant and erect, blue gray cliffs
That poses in regal profile in distant, weepy fog.
The silent oak doors are a stern face
That upholds the weight of slate roofed promises which

Reserves, bookmarks, and dogears
The winningest days, and dreams fulfilled.

M C Biegner