Bellevue Academy Poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar

All the time I am asked...
Where it was that I had been educated?
Before I can part my lips,
I am told I speak like one with intelligence!

Of course immediately I am amused.
And I listen to the list of schools mentioned:

'You live in Connecticut?
Oh, you must have gone to Yale?
Or Wesleyan?
Or UConn?
But then again...
Harvard is close by as well! '

I got my initial training at Bellevue Academy.
Then at Arsenal Prep.
And at Northeast on Westland.

'Reeeeeaaaalllyy?
They must be exclusive!
I have never heard of them.'

They no longer exist!
But yes...
They were quite prestigious.
And I am not the only alumni,
To have been blessed by the teachings...
Or the discipline received.

Unfortunately,
These institutions are gone.
But not the achievements of the people.
They are all over the place...
Dropping just a 'hint' of their greatness!

'Where did this take place again! '

Hartford!

'That's what I thought!
Harvard...right? '

Whatever!