Fun with Poetry, Part One

My first Villanelle -- Saying Goodbye

As we say goodbye I start to cry,

In disbelief the time has passed,

Wishing time apart would likewise fly.

On Wednesday nights my spirits high,

But Sunday always arrives too fast,

And we say goodbye; I start to cry.

On our days together I do try

To simply enjoy, to make them last,

Wishing time apart would likewise fly.

On Sunday mornings I start to sigh;

Throughout the day my dread topmast,

Til saying goodbye I start to cry.

Laughing all day, beloved and I,

Together our joy is deep and vast,

Wishing time apart would likewise fly.

The moment is here; our time's gone by,

Trying to hold my tears steadfast,

But saying goodbye I start to cry,

Wishing time apart would likewise fly.

Eeek

Tonight my short story is going to be workshopped in my Creative Writing course. I'm not sure how confident I am about my story, and I don't always take criticism very well. This could be a disaster.

Grateful

I was crossing the Michigan avenue bridge toward Wacker when I saw the #6 bus start to make its way west so I RAN across the bridge and east on Wacker. The bus driver waited for me at the stop. It was probably only 30 seconds, but with the new schedule that may have saved me 30 minutes in the cold. Thank you, Mr. CTA Driver!



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Go Colts

GO COLTS!!

Okay, I know Indy won the Super Bowl recently and New Orleans hasn't. I know the Saints were important in the emotional recovery of New Orleans. If these were two teams I didn't care about, I'd probably root for the Saints.

But when one of these teams is the Colts, that all goes out the window. I don't have a very good explanation for it. I'm not from Indiana, and Indy has never been the closest NFL team to anywhere I've lived. I just love watching Peyton Manning play, even if he is OCD. I guess when you grow up in northeastern Ohio, you either become a defeatist like my grandmother or you find a new team. (There are no hopeless optimists in Cleveland, at least not when it comes to the Browns. "Maybe next year" is only ever said sarcastically.)

I chose the find-a-new-team approach, at least in football and baseball. Since doing so, I have actually gotten to experience teams I care about winning. I would be thrilled to see the Browns wins a Super Bowl and the Indians win a World Series, but that doesn't seem very likely. I know Laz thinks I'm a complete traitor, but I find it very difficult to care about losing teams when I don't even live there anymore. Heck, I found it fairly difficult to care about them when I did live there.

So, I will root for my adopted team today. I love the Colts for one simple reason: they are fun to watch. I've watched enough bad football in my day to truly appreciate a team that is so talented, that can actually make difficult plays, that doesn't give up if they're losing with five minutes left. And watching Peyton is like watching a master class in how to be a quarterback. I can't help but enjoy it.

interloper

I always feel out of place at these events. I'm at a professionalization conference for underrepresented minority graduate students. I'm here for work, and I take this part of my job very seriously. But I always wonder if the people here take me seriously. I feel very conspicuous. I'm not the only white staff member here, but I'm the only one who looks young enough to be mistaken for a student. I feel like the students from other schools must think I'm pretending to be a minority, just to be invited to the conference. I realize this is ridiculous, and I'm sure, intellectually, that the students are thinking no such thing, but every time I catch someone looking at me, I'm plagued with doubt.