Her mother said I ruined her picture because 

I asked her a question as she was posing

All alone in her cap and gown,

“So there’s no graduation ceremony this year?

How do you feel about that?”

Her mother grimaced and answered for her,

“Terrible!” she said,

“But maybe they’ll have one in the fall instead.”

I thought of my two worthless degrees

From the university,

And how I elected not to attend 

Either of those graduations,

And smiled.

“You look very beautiful,” I told the girl,

“And you seem very smart and intelligent.”

I waved my arm to the east, over the campus,

“You don’t need all this to be a success.”

I hope she finds exactly her true life

In this ‘new normal.’

I hope we all do.

There are parts of it I like, I guess,

But then again, I’ve never been one 

For Pomp and Circumstance.

-jenn