North Vancouver & Delbrook High School
Classes Of 1958
may 19 brunch opening poem
Ed Jackson started our May 19th brunch with this:
I would like to start the program with a poem by Bill Watkins:
We gather here once more
To remember a younger day,
When life was before us
And the future a game to play.
Where activities with friends
Usually consumed most of our time,
And thoughts of a class or test
Occasionally crossed our mind…
There were ball games to play
Or as a spectator to see,
Prom dances and other outings
Where one, just had to be.
There were certain groups
With which one must be seen,
And of course those clothes
Which made our fashion scene…
There was whispered gossip
As we walked the school hall,
And plans for dates made
As we responded to the bell’s call.
There were classes in English, history,
Math, sciences and language too,
And even an occasional crisis
Which we had to work through…
High school was a time for friendships
To last us all life long,
And maybe a future spouse to find
To help us sing life’s song.
It was a time when adulthood
Was something we wanted now,
Because of all the freedom
We perceived it brought somehow…
Most of us gathered here today
Have children fully grown,
And even grandchildren or great grandchildren
To call our very own.
The careers we spent our life at
Are now mostly through,
And in truth for most of us
Life provided a bump or two…
It is easy for us to see
How different we look this day,
And how the rigours of life
Have over time had their way.
But as we sit and share
The memories of time long ago,
We find that inside of us
Is still the youth we cherished so…
I bring this poem to a close
With a personal wish or two,
That life in the future
Will continue to bless me and you.
And that what ever life
Still has for us in store,
We will ever remember
Those high school days of yore…