University

Morning light throws a wreath
over the buildings, wakes the clock tower,
mist lies on the grass, a butterfly
waits for the sun to dry its wings,
the sky’s pages shine with color,
too high for a message from liberal arts.

The janitor shakes his mop
from a third-floor window, no one
hears the echoes of last night’s music,
the silence rips like a silk cloth
when a cardinal by the graduate school
whistles and repeats.

A flag joins the top of the flagpole,
doors swing open, feet sound in the halls,
a student turns the key of his locker
and takes out a briefcase so lightweight
it might contain his future
and waits for the bell.

Outside summer dances with leaves,
midges swarm, balloons of dreams
rise unchecked to bump against the sky.