September twenty-second

Eight a.m.

 

The brisk morning
is
r e f r e s h i n g
as I walk out
of my
decaying,
white house.
What a beautiful morning.

 

Bang, bang.
The power tools
haven’t
stopped.
My ears
have been
r i n g i n g
for weeks.
I walk down the hill.
Headphones on,
ignoring the sounds
that surround me.

 

I make a left turn,
see students scurry to their
eight-thirty.
I slowly make a right turn.
It’s relatively quiet,
I am one of five people
w a l k i n g.

 

I have time to pass,
I walk even slower.
G l i d i n g
on the black pavement.
Suddenly,
I pause.

 

It is eight twenty.
Something is different.
Dead in my tracks,
I look around.

 

The buildings have not had
work done,
the morning dew aroma
is more present
then usual,
but
that is not it.

 

Eight twenty-two.
The Greek tree.
Red,
white, and
blue.
Not a greek letter
to be found.
Blue paint with
white writing,
Geneseo College
Democrats.

 

A club on campus that
discusses political parties,
views,
and
current events
during their weekly meetings.
It says democrats, but that’s not so.

 

They are welcoming,
allow all kinds of views
and opinions
to be discussed.
They work on the
local,
state,
and national level.
They even have
an end of the year
debate.
What an impressive feat
for a college club.

 

P o l i t i c s.
A word that is religiously
thrown around these days.
I remember my first
major encounter with
the word.

 

I told my parents
I had casted a vote,
what a sophisticated
elementary student
I was.

 

I asked my mom her party,
she was puzzled
what a taboo statement.
Of course,
I had fewer teeth back then.

 

With her sparkling green eyes,
she said,
“the only thing that matters
is what
y o u
believe in.”

 

Sophie deFreitas is currently a junior at SUNY Geneseo; she is an Early Childhood/Childhood Major with a concentration in History. She is a member of SUNY Geneseo’s Women’s Swimming and Diving Team. Her favorite book is The Great Gatsby.