College-Ish Poem by Floyd Crenshaw

the beginning of
a new semester
all of you look
so happy
so hopeful

oh why?

do you have a plan?

an idea of where you
might want to be

i sat in the offices
i walked the halls
i wandered the grounds
i watched it all

some have heads down
college is about me
and my education

some have heads high
college is about me
knowing all of you
in all sorts of ways

some are eyes deep
in debt for several measly attempts
at betterment
betting on themselves
in a long jog that could end today

some are years older
ten, twenty or thirty
with more expectation
than myself at
a fifty dollar cover charge
strip club

some are stoned
some are beefed
some are beautiful
some are hideous
all have one thing in mind
a future

i can not see myself
enjoying a class
at the moment
there is too much faith
in these eyes
as i witness with skepticism
all the warm what-ifs
and smiling debtors
debating
doing the minimum
learning to lie
and all in all
becoming well rounded individuals

you can not learn it all
out of a text book.