A song of Athens

Recently I logged on to Ohio Today Online and realized that one could actually send in letters, stories, etc. So going through my own writings of verse, I came across one I had written on the College Green about two months before I was to graduate and leave for home in Malaysia. I thought I'd send it to you to share with other alumni. I call what I write ''semantic verse'' because it is simply an expression of thoughts, feelings and emotions; hence the style with almost no punctuation. Initially I wrote it as a song on my guitar. I still play my guitar and sing when memories of OU come flooding back into my mind.

Ananda Tilaka Sekara, MA '82

Sarawak, Malaysia

athens goodbye

come one come all let's sit around

let's join hands and bathe in the sun

winter is gone the sun is up

the sky is clear bright and blue

a storm is brewing, the thunder breaks

spring rains pouring, quenching the ground

athens ohio you're warm once again

sleepy grey stately trees turning green

dandelions and violets

tulips and daffodils

spots of yellow, blue and red

saying hi to the rain and the sun

one more turn and the circle breaks

hugs, tears and goodbyes

but that's the road life often takes

it's a lot of hi's and bye's

true as ever it's the saddest thing

to meet, to know, to depart

come one come all let's turn around

let's join hands and bathe in the sun

before you know it you'll be moving on

heading your different ways

turning around in new circles

old memories slipping fading away

many will come and many will go

but athens like the brook you'll go on

and like many i'll take off

from the cold to live in the sun