Observations after a Rotary scholarship reception
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| Norm Braatz, right, looks on as Ben Heart, who will attend art college in Los Angeles, thanks the Rotary for their support of his higher education. Coordinating the scholarship event prompted Braatz to pen this poem. |
All requirements fulfilled
Goals achieved
Visions of what might be
As new gates open
Where with confidence
Yet uneasiness too
They enter
To begin the next chapter
What beauty here
Beauty of a community
Having provided rich experiences
In which to grow.
Beauty of family joy
Pride in progeny
Deep gratitude for rescue
When losses struck hard
early in life.
Confidence too
Having wrestled and won
Acted and sang
Reached out in service
To the hurting and alone
To young and old.
No boundaries will block
No goals become unreachable.
Ah, the optimism of youth!
So beautiful
Having been nourished
And nurtured
Before the gorgeous mountains
Beside these flowing waters
By loving parents
And those who stepped in
By teachers and coaches
Who went the extra mile
By a community of caring people
Offering rich
Gifts of life to
God’s most precious gifts.