Ghosts of Lewis

“The Poet has a Dream”

I am the gray Purple Poet,
My words are etched for all time;
If you hear me on campus you'll know it,
I speak in verses and rhyme.
1.
A dream that I had,
More cheerful than sad,
Of a time when we were all new;
The ghosts in this dream,
Were true it would seem,
'Bout people and places at Lew.
2.
I saw as if real,
Fitz, Founders, and Sheil,
The gym, library, and more;
Merichka's and Lennie's,
Where we spent all our pennies,
Boba's the Spa, Strike and Spare.
3.
But more than the places,
Came voice from the faces,
From classrooms both loud and quite low;
It was Staszak and Hill,
Bro Paul and Bro Phil,
Cordano and Ashamy, and Zao.
4.
From the caf came a blend,
Of Hazel and Glenn,
From the chapel 'twas Foge's and the Pock;
At the gym I could hear,
While shedding a tear,
The Good, the Spider, and Enoch.
5.
As I continued my dream,
I walked on grass oh so green,
And saw the gait of yet others;
The Ruds with Kosiba,
Craig Stewart and Tom Pictor,
Chem Phil and Raymond, both Brothers.
6.
And to tell you the truth,
There was Dorothy and Ruth,
Who helped us with money of course;
Walking afar,
Was Babe and Les Carr,
Herding sheep, some goats, and a horse.
7.
Leading a large team,
Of Black students Kathleen,
Was marching into the main hall;
With Charles and the others,
Inspired all the brothers,
In hopes that aged hurdles would fall.
8.
On the fields plain as day,
Crowds watching teams play,
Came roars from primitive hordes;
In the haze of my dream,
Came loud cheers and screams,
Whenever their teams got a score.
9.
Despite all the fun,
Some students looked glum,
At first puzzled that none of them laughed;
It was Viet Nam time,
And their only crime,
Was the number they had in the draft.
10.
Kids that were swept,
From box scores that I kept,
A part of their lives would be robbed;
Most would come back, 
Some arrived in a sack,
My tears were transformed into sobs.
11.
But the Poet knows life,
Is both good and has strife,
Our dreams and history we share;
The friendships we made,
The games that we played,
All made us the folks that we are.
12.
The ghosts in my dream,
So life-like they seem,
'Bout people and places that all know us;
Though absent our prime,
Let's value the time,
And the years that we had while at Lewis.
Refrain
Yes, I am the gray Purple Poet,
My feelings I seldom do hide;
If you see me on campus you'll know it,
Though feeble I still walk with "L" pride.