I always look forward to May graduation
–just not for the reasons you imagine.

Sure, I enjoy launching students into the world,
meeting parents, posing for awkward photos.

But my secret pleasure comes from biking
past the stadium in the weeks before.

As the grounds crew shoulder their
giant leaf blowers to clear glittering bits

blasted from confetti cannons, I ride
through the shimmering galaxies they loft.

I can nearly hear the winding stem,
the tinny music that makes me go.