By Steven Collins Eller –
Inter-club Council Representative, Omega NU Student Organization
Chair, Student Social Work Association
When I was an acolyte
The master told me that
I would always be an adept
But I’d wear a different hat
So far I’ve been a gourmet
I’ve been a teacher too
I’ve always been a student
Of whatever art I do.
In all, of my endeavors
I’ve always gleaned the clue
That it was time to hang that hat
And find a new task to do
I’ve never had a problem
That couldn’t be made gold
By applying something new
Mixed with that which was now old.
And now, I am a poet,
A husband, and a dad.
I find these last to be
The most joyful hats I’ve had.
So now, of hats, I’ve several.
I wear at least one every day.
Most days I wear several, but,
I wonder which today.
As an adept, then a poet.
So a student soon will teach.
And how priceless is the task,
Of others’ minds to reach.
I ask you, dear reader, to bear with me, and grant me license to reflect. An acolyte is not exactly the right word for what I was trying to portray when I wrote this poem. Perhaps, a better word would have been “initiate”, but I never could get used to the way it sounds. Regardless, I think that the meaning becomes apparent. The poem is among a series that I wrote about five years ago, but it has never been published in written form before now.
My favorite part is the stanza that begins, “And now, I am a poet.” To me it feels like the poem kind helps you to realize you’ve been carried along by the poetry up until this point, and then kind of dropped into cold, hard reality. “…a husband, and a dad.”
The CSEA Student Voice 