On May 21, 2024, I graduated Summa Cum Laude at the age of 75 with a BA in English-Creative Writing. Happy Anniversary. It was a hell of a ride.

After the long journey
   -arriving home-
the feeling of ending and beginning
of completion
of making the journey 
   -and- 
lessons learned 
   -and- 
exhaustion   all at the same time
   -it is not a victory-

I didn’t conquer a war or cure cancer
I earned a moment of self-recognition 
   -that- 
I can climb any mountain
swim across any ocean
walk over hot coals   with eyes wide open
  -that-
I can see where I came from clearly 
   -and- 
where the once emptiness I felt
I now feel
   -elation-

that’s the amount of spirit   I spent 
to get to this moment in time
   -in my life-
how much do I have in me to celebrate
   -no, that’s not the right word-
to recognize my own capacity 
   -to be faster than a speeding bullet-
   -more powerful than a locomotive-
to be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound
   -I ain’t no Superman-

but I am
   -unwilling to give up-
to surrender against all odds
physical   no knee surgeries
   -on both knees-
were going to stop me
   -no chronic cough-
was going to stop me
   -no worldwide pandemic of death-
was going to stop me
spiritual   
   -no doubts   no hesitations-
were going to stop me
from moving forward

I will not stop
   -until I reach the goal line-
   -until I reach home-
I cannot stop and rest
I must continue on
there are no obstacles that I can’t go through
over   under   around

my belief in self
in my stubbornness
my unwillingness to surrender
because that word doesn’t exist
I don’t recognize it
I don’t accept even the thought of it
when I see 
   -and- 
hear the cheerleaders in my life
pushing
pulling
kicking
dragging me
loving me
putting my   their hands up
reaching for the heavens
   -elation-

I’ve just stopped long enough
   -for a moment-
to walk to the end of one journey
and now 
the beginning of a new one
   -elation-

all photos by antonio pedro ruiz