Ann Arbor High School - Omega Yearbook (Ann Arbor, MI)

Page 22 text:

CLASS POEM. AFTER COMMENCEMENT. iii?- BY GENEVIEVE KI TTREDGE . Finished l At last the time has really come, When, filled with happy thoughts and joyous glee, Our books are flung aside and each one says, At last 'tis finished! Now indeed I,1D free. A maiden sweet and fair to see Sits by a dying fire, I Her handslie folded in her lap, ' Her eyes show deep desire. Bright giftsof flowers before her lie, Fair buds of dainty hue, Ribbons and gloves, and last of all A parchment tied with blue. ' She handles it caressingly, Unrolls and reads again, Beholds with dreamy lingering gaze The traciugs of the pen. A shadow creeps across her face, Her eyes sad thought betray 3 And with a gesture of despair She thrusts the thing away. I 2 it sf V413 5, 3 3,1 A 1 is . ,Q .i ,PL 'Q 4 rl 3 , T ,iii 5 A f ha 5 si ET ,v' ,. 'K faq 35

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That man, whether rich or poor, black or white, whether a graduate from some renowned university, or educated in the school of poverty-that man, I say, whose labor is based upon a noble' character is truly great. I care not whether you find him working in a mine, or debating the great and momentous questions of the day in the halls of congress, whether you find him sawing wood, or sw-aying the minds and hearts of a vast audience with his eloquence, he is truly greatq But, as I have said before, no man in America 'with ambition and' energy and character needs to work in a mine, or saw Wood very' long, for he can become famous if he will. In our glorious motto we have the keyfwhich unlocks the door to fame. What lay back of all the success of Franklin? A pure and noble character. VVhat raised him from a poor tallow-chandler's son, to the great statesman and philosopher, and made, him one of the greatest benefactors of the human-race? i- Labor. Only-a marble-slab--marks his last resting place, but his life was a grand and impeishable monument of human greatness, purer than Parian marble, and grander thanthe mightiest monument the dews of heaven ever kissed. And now, classmates, I have said a great deal that I know you will forget,-but there are three things that.I wish to impress upon you, and if you will always remember these, I shall feel amply repaid. First, that there is nothing, absolutely nothing withontlabor. Second, that, work as hard as you can, if ,you have no character back of it, your labor will never amount to anything. And last, that if you have a noble character and Work, you are positive, of success, for labor under such conditions is im- mortality. A great many students graduate with a great regard for them- selves, but with a contempt for common laboring men. They despise small gains and hope to become millionaires in a day. If that is the result of our education, it has been a decided failure. But' if our education has .taught us to have due regard for character, to look upon labor as the lever by which--mankind 'is uplifted, and to have just -as much respect for the poorly clad Working man as for the millionaire, who has gained his money' by the sweat of other mens' brows, then our education has been a, grand success. II

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Four Weary years, she softly sighs Of struggle, toil, and fears 5' 'Tis finished now, and is this all I've gathered from these years? 'Tis finished? But is this the goal Iive tried for long and hard? Diploma! ,,Can,it..be that.this Is nowmy sole reward? '5' ' Is this to be the glorious end I dreamed of long ago, And can it be that 1ny high. aims Have ended all in show? I I Wanted honor, that I might, To all the world be known, Fame 'seemed to be the only thing I longed to call my ownf' Is it? Oh no, it cannot be The fondvhopes I have cherished lVere naught but idle fantasies And in this manner perished. The fire is burning low and lower, The dreary rain is dripping, And through the wistful downcast lids The shining tears are slipping. She lets them fall unheedingly In glit'ring, gleaming drops, The world for her is desolate, There areno brightened spots. She rises from her lowly seat, And, going to the door, A dismal landscape shows itself Although the storm is o'er. I3 I