Bill Engelhardt
Sonnet
-- Scott McDade
Ahead, I see a mountain dark as night
Can it be conquered by a man so weak?
There's a meadow to the left, and valley right,
But I must keep my course, and cross the peak.
The mountainside is rugged. I'm forsaken.
The mask of righteous selfhood falls away.
Now I know my oneness. I've awakened.
The struggle makes my life a brighter day.
At last I reach the summit, but I'm humble
When I see higher mountains all around.
I must fight on to that toward which I stumble
Now that I've breathed the air of higher ground.
The men who walk the meadows die away,
But those who take the high roads, free are they.
Baccalaureate, May 31, 1964
Commencement, June 4, 1964
Class Theme: We will not follow where the path may lead, but we will go where there is no path, and we will leave a trail.
(Reprinted without permission)
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