Promises

Doors open

Faces aglow

With anxious excitement.

The ceremony ends

And there are no tearless eyes.

The crowd shifts

As the end begins.

People say hello to goodbyes

Minds wander back, reminiscing on day one

The halls that once held anxious kids

Now burst with the free-to-think-they’re-free spirits of

graduates

as deals are opened and sealed with hugs

and signed in tears

the free-to-think-they’re-free graduates find themselves

Inexplicably

Surprisingly

And frustratingly

At a loss for words.

Joyous sadness gives way to awkward lingering

And they grope for means to assert their farewells.

It’s really not their fault,

You can hardly blame them

Much.

For the most part they actually believe themselves

And the promises they make.

Sure; deep down somewhere

Among the other cold

Hard

Ugly truths

They know that these promises are as worthless as their freedom

Yet it is human nature

To reassure oneself

And others

Regardless of the truth.

So the promises begin

Where the truth ends.

“We’ll keep in touch.”