Graduation
The average person gets 432 haircuts in their lifetime
For you I wonder- too many, or not enough
Regardless, you will not like most of them
Every seven years your skin is completely renewed
From scalp to toes, a new birthday suit is knitted
You will use at least 150 toothbrushes
from baby teeth to wisdoms,
and swallow just as many spiders
or so the legend goes…
How many haircuts until you find yourself
How much skin must be shed before
it’s thick enough to stand up in battle
How many spiders swallowed
before humility stains the lips
Your eyes will know the answers.
That day your heart will ring
As bells echo in your mind’s
cavernous landscape
We graduate many times, not just today.
Celebrate each one
shannon p. laws 