The Farewell Sestina Poem by Christopher Parcels

The Farewell Sestina



It was Walter Cronkite, wasn't it, who said,
'And that's the way it is, ' at the end of the show,
safe in the knowledge he had done his job well
and standing by for all the other things
that needed to be done at close of day-
how utterly unlike the way I am.

The time has come to wonder who I am;
it is time to say what has not yet been said.
When the skulking shade of graduation day
comes to end this last picture show,
I will relfect on all the many things
I've done; I hope I'll find I did them well.

There were times I overslept and felt unwell
(blame the reckless partier I am) .
And I remember saying all those hateful things
which now I wish that I had never said;
and my utter inability to show
some inner sunshine through my cloudy day.

But now and then I found a better day,
where friends were met and I kept them very well,
and the game, the class, the television show
turned me into who I seldom am:
'the boy at the party last night who said,
as I recall, the most delightful things.'

All in all, I'll miss so many things:
eating at Ray on chicken nugget day;
the funny thing Professor Quinlan said;
the springtime flowers, watered very well
as if to shout to tour guides, 'Here I am! '
and waiting for the autumn leaves to show.

What is yet to come, no looking back can show;
the future holds for us mysterious things.
But I won't change; I like the way I am-
it simply took 'til graduation day
to grasp my truth and draw once more from the well
the sacred ink of all that has been said.

In this show that is my life, the hero said
at close of day, 'This is the way I am:
bound for better things, and so, farewell.'

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