Dear Graduating Seniors,

Congratulations! Your twelve years of grade school will soon culminate with gifts, celebrations and a sense of pride. Consider this a simple offering intended to recognize and reward your efforts over the years.

My poem The Boy is a reminder of how, no matter titles or wealth, important having time for childhood awe is. Please continue to explore the options life will reveal while always finding a few moments for play. It has been a joy working with and knowing you.

THE BOY

By Robert Houghtaling Sr.

A young boy on a rainy day
Sloshed in puddles down the street
Eating his favorite popsicle
And splashing with his feet.

The steady rain kept pouring
Creating a river ‘long the way
He finished the tasty delicacy
Leaving a stick behind to play.

Never before has such a boat
Adorned the oceans blue
The mighty little popsicle stick
Driven by imagination’s crew.

Down the raging river,
Stopped by twigs and stones,
Only to get a gentle nudge
From “Captain All Alone.”

Braving the rushing waters
The boy captain and his friend
Lived a high adventure
To the street’s very end.
I often think of that gentle boy
Walking in the rain.
Did he grow into a man
And carry age’s pain?

I wonder if he’d ever try
When the sky turns gray
To grab his tasty popsicle
And go outside to play.