finals week

The decorations lend a festive air
while chaos reigns beneath their twinkling glow.
The students wish that they were anywhere

besides in front of the monitor's glare
trying so hard to get the words to flow.
The decorations lend a festive air,

but Christmas is too far away to care.
Writing term papers, sucking down cups of joe,
the students wish that they were anywhere,

perhaps in bed, at home, or in the air
en route to Europe. Here's the status quo:
the decorations lend a festive air

while below the tinsel, students tear out their hair
as prose quality declines to a new low.
The students wish that they were anywhere

because all these exams just aren't fair
and everyone's beyond ready to go.
The decorations lend a festive air
while students wish they could be anywhere.

don't take the last line too seriously

I am terrified of what the future will hold.
Everybody always tells me to be brave,
but the fact of the matter is I'm growing old
and there's nothing and no one that can save
me from the ending I can see from here:
the end of warmth and love and nearness.
To wit, it's graduation that I fear,
and losing touch with those I hold the dearest.
Oh sure, there's email, Facebook and the phone
and perhaps even the occasional visit,
but after May I'm going to be alone
and from that solitude there's no real respite.
I'll cherish these few months with all my friends
and try not to kill myself when it ends.

belief systems

The things people can believe
with no real proof
are really astonishing.

For example:
There is an invisible man in the sky
who makes things happen
and can help you if you ask hard enough
and when good people die, they go hang out with him
but if you're bad-- well, don't be bad,
you won't like what happens to you if you're bad.

Or how about this one:
Everything you do adds up
and if you do good things then your life will be better
and if you do bad things you will come back as a cockroach.

This one's really good:
That man in the sky cares what you eat
and if you eat the wrong stuff
you will go to the same place as the bad people.

But really this one is my favorite.
This is the absolute kicker,
the best proof-free belief I know:
For some reason I believe
deeply and truly and fiercely
that one day you will love me like I love you.