CONGRATULATIONS
TO THE
SWEET GIRL
GRADUATE
What a surprise in the teenager's eyes,
When the lady of
eighty sat down,
A smile on her face, yet fear in her heart.
As she
gingerly looked all around.
A typical classroom with desks and chairs,
And text books
and charts and maps,
Though she was resigned, she felt out of line,
But
too late now to turn back.
She picked up her pad and her pencil,
And took voluminous
notes,
At first her hand trembled so much,
She could barely read what she
wrote.
The print in the text books, too small,
The blackboards,
too far away.
The teachers lectured too softly,
She couldn't hear what
they had to say.
But she spoke up in class discussions,
The essays she wrote
were quite grand,
But to write or recite from memory,
The poor lady was
all but damned.
She attacked her classes with fervor,
She selected subjects
she lacked,
Then somehow she grew exponentially,
This lady who dared to
come back.
She took English, Science, and History,
And gained
Mathematical skills,
But she couldn't take Sex Education,
Parental
permission was nil.
But undaunted and full of spirit,
The lady with guts
toughed it out,
And, by hook or by crook, she made it,
Her senility never
found out.
Struggling, fighting all the way,
Head on, she faced every
onslaught,
And when at last her war was won,
She knew more than she had
been taught.
The body may age, but not the heart,
And attitude's an
ageless thing,
She grew younger by each class she took,
'Til she became
like sweet sixteen.
Her head held high; her shoulders back,
Her husband and
children cheered,
Her grandkids and the great-grands, too,
Oh such pride
in Grandma Anear!
Here's to the Class of 2003,
We ask blessings for Helen
from God,
She worked so hard to get that degree,
So maybe now she can get
a job!
Virginia (Ginny) Ellis
Copyright June
2003
This poem is dedicated to my friend and neighbor, Helen Anear,
who at the age of 80 received her high school diploma June 2003.
I am so very proud of you, Helen!
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