Purple Trees

I was surprised by the purple trees,

But more so by the swell of pride that apprehended,

As the academic pomps and vanities proceeded before me

Among them was but a little child.

In my eyes,

So tender a shoot,

Curly haired of fair skin I remembered.

He smiled in his black cloak of wisdom and stood among the hopefuls.

I saw him dream with his unfurled wings

And I an outsider to this world

Was for a few short hours allowed in to taste the sweet of accomplishment,

Like a stolen kiss.

As I witnessed the spectacle,

My eyes became a fountainhead of the soul

And spilled upon the ground warm droplets of pure joy.

All present heard his name called forth

And struggling for decorum

Joined the assemblage in this corporate mirth.

And how he walked across the stage a man,

It is a mystery to me.

Yet all this beauty and spirit

Beneath the magic of purple trees.