The Program

frenzied voices,
shouting and laughing,
echo down the wrinkled streets of The Glebe,
university students pull couches off U-Hauls,
blaze up on paint chipped porches,
new roommates,
good-time grins,
fresh faced parties,
turn to hustled friendships,
and desperate relationships,
days fly forward,
course loads to deadlines,
grades to degrees,
blown by the cold fall wind,
ambition goes blind,
numbers are collected,
rankings are published,
competitions are run,
starry skied summer conversations fade,
faces turn strange,
hearts get torn,
trust gets lost,
like a rain-soaked mitten floating on the Canal,

before we knew it,

The Program had begun.