Two Poems: Class Day Poem; The Purple Hills

This commemorative volume brings together two poems shaped by college life, farewell, memory, and the moral responsibilities of adulthood. The first unfolds as a Class Day address in verse, presenting the college as a wise and steadfast mother who blesses her sons before they leave its sheltered hills for the wider world.

Her counsel is direct and demanding: learning must be matched by labor, courage must overcome fear, and education must produce humility rather than vanity. Alongside calls to strength and perseverance, the poem emphasizes compassion, loyalty, truthfulness, and respect for every honest task. Its vision of graduates returning to their alma mater gives the farewell a warm, enduring sense of home.

The companion poem turns toward the landscape itself, evoking the purple mountains and the atmosphere of remembered youth. Together, the works offer listeners a reflective portrait of collegiate fellowship and a heartfelt meditation on leaving familiar ground, meeting life’s struggles, and carrying one’s ideals into the years ahead.