High School Graduation
I used to think that graduation
was the end
until I learned that “commencement”
is a beginning
While a commencement ceremony
signifies the end of a chapter
in many ways
It more importantly marks
the opening
of what comes after
The future
For many, high school graduation
is the first of many commencements
June 6, 2023 in Richmond, Virginia
was the only commencement
for one 18-year-old graduate
and the last for his stepdad
The shooter snuffed them out
over some kind of rivalry
A witness commented that
they couldn’t get the futile CPR of the victims
out of their head
Candle snuffers put out a flame
quickly
effectively
efficiently
The difference between those candles
and the life of that high school graduate
is the graduate doesn’t have
a wick that can ever be relit by
a Bic
or a Zippo
Home is Where They Are
It’s her face
The slope of her nose
The purse of her lips
The sheen on her forehead
The clear blue of her eyes
My mother’s face is home
It’s his embrace
The curve of his shoulder
The bulk of his bicep
The slight squeeze as he pulls me tighter
The scratch of his scruff against my cheek
My husband’s embrace is home
It’s her presence
The side glance, eyebrows raised
The run away, then toward
The cartwheel in the living room
The request for just one more kiss before bed
My daughter’s presence is home
The First Day of Spring
Disney movies had me convinced that the first day of spring was full of slightly filtered sunlight, tiny white, purple, and yellow flowers, tall grass, and large shade trees. Growing up in San Diego, the first day of spring was primarily a marine layer, perhaps a bit of a drizzle, and not much change to any foliage. Living in Muncie, Indiana for a couple of years showed me that the first day of spring can be a snow storm, an ice storm, or a sunny day, but certainly very little warmth. Baton Rouge, Louisiana for three years demonstrated that the first day of spring was humidity and flash floods—plenty of mosquitos. Many years in Los Angeles has varied the first day of spring between record rain, scorching sun, and any combination of all other kinds of the first day of spring.
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