University of Delaware - Blue Hen Yearbook (Newark, DE)

Page 9 text:

REFLECTIONS IN STILL WATER I watched the pond without lifting my eyes; Shadow of leaves on shadow skies; Scarves of color twining through haze And a bright bird flying with wings ablaze; A bird flying over, the day in flight, And I watched him pass without lifting my eyes. It was enough, the shadow of delight, The shadow of a bird over shadow skies. The first white star unbound her hair; The water trembled, and she was there Setting her foot on the darkening mirror While round her the trees of night leaned nearer; They gathering dark, she gathering light, And I watched the pond without lifting my eyes; It was enough, the shadow of night, The shadow of a star in the shadow skies. R. S Hillyer Copyright, Alfred Knopf, 1947

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DEDICATION: TO ROBERT 5. HILLYER D, Robert 8. Hillyer, one of the most outstanding members of our university's faculty, has had a long and varied carcer, At Harvard, where he spent his undergraduate years, he won the Garrison award for Poetry in 1916. He served with the French Army in 1916 and was later a lieutenant in the American Expeditionary Forces. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has served as president of the Poetry Society of America. He has been Phi Beta Kappa poet at five universities. In 1933 his collected verse won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. Other books of verse include Fariations on a Theme, Pattern fr?r' d fJ.rJ. Poenii I,I'::ar Music, and The Suburb .;:-;. the Sea. Dr. Hillyer writes poetry and criticism for the New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, and the New York Times. His prose works include several novels and First Principler of Verse. He is H. Fletcher Brown, Professor of Literature at the University of Delaware, Students at the Umiversity who have had the privilege of studying and writing under Dr. Hillyer will carry fiem memories of the humor and shrewdness of his criticism; the life and warm interest which he took in their intellectual growth; and the skill and intense lyricism of his own works, Those who have heard his readings of poctry will remember the tasteful harmony of his poetic interpretation. We dedicate this book, representing one year of life, to a man whose poetry sings the passing of time and youth.

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DR. JOHN A. PERKINS, President People who do not really know what higher educa- tion is about may be shocked that there should be any doubt of what you have gained from your undergraduate education, or, indeed, from the graduate studies some of you have carried to completion, After all, the un- initiated say, you are receiving a degree! Certainly, all concerned should know why, Indeed, we do know why, But a degree is not the true purpose or significance of your education. The degree 15 but the end of the formal educational accounting process. In the accumulation of credits for a bachelor's, master's, or doctor's degree, obviously you have garnered more than credits. You have accumulated some knowledge. More important than your sum total of knowledge, you have come to the realization that there 1s an infinite lot still to be learned. Some college graduates have been led to believe that not only is the world their oyster, but it would be served to them on the half-shell. Let me disabuse your minds of that notion. The oyster may be yours, for the world belongs to each peneration as it matures. But to open it and enjoy a feast of happiness presents a hard, disagreeable job. Cuts and bruises are certain, You may not open the oyster at all. It could slip out of your hands into the abyss of a timeless future. Given leisure, an intelligent Greek would, of course, employ it in thinking and learning. That was what made leisure priceless. And the same idea, the same reasoning, must hold for you. The cuphoria on our campus stems, in part, from a growing sense that ours is a singular purpose and a very high calling. Together we are all in the business that matters maost ta our civilization's progress. It must succeed if all else is not to fail. Knowing this, and where we are, and whither we are tending, we shall, pray God, know what to do and bew to do it. e