“The Sweet Girl Graduate”
The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore, Maryland, June 15, 1908
Standing with reluctant feet
Where the brook and river meet,
See the sweet girl graduate
Brace herself to tackle Fate.
See her in her dimity,
Plain white lawn or organdie,
Waiting trembling, sweet and fair,
With a rosebud in her hair
And an essay in her hand.
Shaking as she takes the stand,
See the blushes come and go,
Soft pink bloom in fields of snow;
Listen as she reads the lines
Leading to the far confines
Of the future which she sees
Dimly through her auguries.
To her schooldays, ending here,
Pays the tribute of a tear,
And with a smile she turns to meet
The long, hard path before her feet.
She has learned—from books—that life
At its best is only strife
Till the end, when she lays down
The heavy cross to take the crown.
Oh, say,
Ain't she the higher way?
Ain't she
The solver of the mystery—
Life's problem, whose solution is
Man's never-yet-quite-answered quiz?
Still the same reluctant feet
Where the brook and river meet,
That same evening, rather late,
Sitting in a hammock with
Some young cub named Brown or Smith,
Swapping moonshine mush and bliss,
Rosebud, rapture and a kiss—
Does she fear to tackle Fate?
Ask the sweet girl graduate.