When We Finished College

When we finished college
We threw a party on a Monday
Because we could
Because Mondays would no longer be the Mondays
They once were

Until we got real world grown-up super adult jobs
Mondays could be just days
Like Fridays could be just days
Like days off could be every day
Like day after day could be amazing

When we finished college
We all drove to the beach
And ran out into the sand
Seeing if we could get lost
On flat land
Or amongst the rolling dunes
Soon disappearing into ocean water
And the midst of July

We didn't ask each other
Where we'd be
Come fall when we'd fall
Into rigorous normalcy

We heard talk of office jobs
And internships
And M.F.A.'s
And days spent
Missing having papers due
Too tired to complete
That bibliography

And we kissed each other
Everybody, everyone
To hide the smiles that climbed on our faces
When we placed those kisses
On those we'd been wishing to kiss
For longer than one day at the beach

We reached into bags of stories
Thought previously empty
To pull out secrets
We now felt safe sharing

Who'd dared to change their major
Without telling their tuition-paying parents
Who apparently had switched sexualities at least three times
Who had self-loathing and who felt okay finally gloating
That they'd nailed their T.A.

When we finished college
We thought it was okay to say
That we think maybe one day
We'll be much more than okay

We overspent in malls
Celebrating our diplomas
The aroma of different stores
Sinking into our skin before we remembered
That it was too nice to be spent inside
Riding shopping highs

And after the barbecues
And the Fourth and the Fifth
And the lifts home from block parties
On downtown Saturday nights
A few pool party fights
And the right crest of August
Just before the best of us
Turned from graduating
To graduates

We bet ourselves we'd always be this cool
Despite the distance
Between us and school completion

The deletion of our expectations
Gave way to dedications

To always be friends
And family
And support
And unconditional
And reliable

And to laugh
And to party
And to talk
And to celebrate

And despite what may happen
To those dedications

We still finished
We still did it
We still did pretty great