Graduation Speech

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

<p>Alright so I'm the valedictorian at my school and I have to give the graduation speech. I didn't want to do some cookie cutter speech so I decided to mix things up a bit by making the entire thing rhyme. It's maybe 3/4 finished, tell me what you think.
(by the way, CEGEP is the type of school I'm in; Canada stuff...)</p>

<p>We started off a large part the same,
Without a penny to our name;
Our days were filled with naps and toys,
And parents irked by all the noise.</p>

<p>Soon came a change, I’ve yet to pardon,
We were sent off, to kindergarten;
Our lunchables and dunkaroos,
Were little help, to calm our blues.</p>

<p>But soon our sadness did abate,
These little minds grew less irate;
We settled in and made new friends,
And hoped these days would never end.</p>

<p>But time ticked on, as it tends to,
Against our will, we slowly grew;
Lessons on how to write and read,
Advanced at an alarming speed.</p>

<p>And thus began our grade school years,
Much like our bikes, our minds switched gears;
From drawing and the alphabet,
To math, English and still more yet.</p>

<p>The years went on, no end in sight,
Our rate of progress seeming slight;
Yet we pressed on, we always do,
Letting our minds, in knowledge, stew.</p>

<p>But finally, an end did come,
High fives were shared with all our chums;
For another chapter saw an end,
And high school we would soon attend.</p>

<p>Less focused to do work and learn,
Our friends became a large concern;
For we became more self-aware,
And to fit in, we took great care.</p>

<p>Man, we thought we were so darn cool,
But looking back, I was such a tool;
We were awkward and sort of jerks,
Growing, I guess that’s how it works.</p>

<p>Those high school years, we changed a lot,
Far more than I’d have ever thought;<br>
I grew up and you all did too,
Now standing here is something new.</p>

<p>I guess that brings me to CEGEP,
Much more than just another step;
The past few years changed me the most,
I entered bread but now I’m toast. </p>

<p>Though days spent here weren’t all sublime,
The memories will last all time;
Just standing here, things come to mind,
How at Heritage, each day I’d find:</p>

<p>The computer labs, always full,
With most the people on Farmville;
Jacque’s uniform, without a crease,
And our morning call, “spécial saucisse”.</p>

<p>But far more than I can capture here,
In the words and rhymes I speak so clear;
All of our days there were unique,
And each of you had different weeks.</p>

<p>It still needs some tweaking and maybe 5 more stanzas. I'm also going to have a regular intro and conclusion.</p>

2

<p>Have you ever read Browning’s My Last Duchess? I feel like your poem would work so much better if your lines were enjambed as his are. We read that in English class and the rhythm that technique engendered hid the rhyme scheme from all of us for a full reading. Though your rhymes do have a significant level of maturity, I feel that it gets a bit cutesy. Since yours is a long poem, you should also look into something like Renascence, by Millay, as she rhymes aabb throughout yet avoids an immature sound – while maintaining her true juvenescent ebullience, as she was, I believe 19, when she wrote it – again, through enjambment. It’s a panacea :).</p>

3

<p>Aaah, I’m a science student. It doesn’t have to be a work of art, just fun and quirky… for a speech anyway.</p>

4

<p>Hey, I’m doing a grad speech too (though not as a valedictorian) and I’m liking what you have here. As long as your delivery’s bright, you should be fine :)</p>