{"id":292,"date":"2011-03-11T17:26:49","date_gmt":"2011-03-11T17:26:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/studentweb.bellevuecollege.edu\/belletrist\/?p=292"},"modified":"2015-03-26T10:04:42","modified_gmt":"2015-03-26T10:04:42","slug":"campus-trees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/studentweb.bellevuecollege.edu\/belletrist\/campus-trees\/","title":{"rendered":"Campus Trees"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Hannah L. Johanson<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

I.
\nWe walked in the courtyard, between buildings R and L \u2013
\nConstantly bantering about families, freedom, and finals,
\nSitting, with arms resting on the oversized study chairs,
\nWe inhabited the student lounge that first trepid year \u2013
\nWatching the ornamental trees change seasons,
\nThrough the clear glass window panes.<\/p>\n

II.
\nWe discussed our dreams in the Fall, buried under texts \u2013
\nOf Maslow, Whitman, Aristotle, mixed in Grey\u2019s Anatomy,
\nSitting, with legs crossed over and papers on our laps,
\nWe talked about entrepreneurship and humanitarian aid \u2013
\nWatching the dry leaves blow across the nearby sidewalk,
\nPiling up in a heap of refuse.<\/p>\n

III.
\nWe longed for each other in the Winter, cold and shy \u2013
\nSeparated by whitened roads and constant hospital stays,
\nSitting, on a rare occasion, bundled up in thermal layers,
\nWe whispered in low tones of pain, sickness, and sorrow \u2013
\nWatching the vacant branches sway aimlessly in the wind,
\nGently shifting the empty carcasses.<\/p>\n

IV.
\nWe smiled when the Spring arrived, tired and wet \u2013
\nBasking in the opaque sun, partly hidden by the clouds,
\nSitting, with our shoulders touching and heads bent down,
\nWe silently traced charcoal sketches of birds with new ink \u2013
\nWatching small blossoms take shape on the outside scene,
\nSlight glimpses of hope and beauty.<\/p>\n

V.
\nWe sighed come Summer, in the oppressive, barren heat \u2013
\nShielding our eyes from the incessant light, hiding from it,
\nSitting, for the last time in the empty room, two of us alone,
\nWe ate our lunch, cramming for a test on protein synthesis \u2013
\nWatching the student couple kiss, shaded by natural sculptures,
\nReaching up to grasp the vibrant green foliage.<\/p>\n

VI.
\nI cry every Fall-time, in the sharpened campus air \u2013
\nRunning my fingers over the window ledge in building R,
\nSitting, where I can watch the first years chatter endlessly,
\nI go to write my poems, glancing toward your vacant seat \u2013
\nWatching a constant stream of people walk beneath our trees,
\nHurrying by, without regard to the season of life they pass under,
\nTheir footsteps trampling on the freshly fallen leaves.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Hannah L. Johanson I. We walked in the courtyard, between buildings R and L \u2013 Constantly bantering about families, freedom, and finals, Sitting, with arms resting on the oversized study chairs, We inhabited the student lounge that first trepid … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2011-edition","category-previous-editions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentweb.bellevuecollege.edu\/belletrist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentweb.bellevuecollege.edu\/belletrist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentweb.bellevuecollege.edu\/belletrist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentweb.bellevuecollege.edu\/belletrist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentweb.bellevuecollege.edu\/belletrist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=292"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/studentweb.bellevuecollege.edu\/belletrist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":633,"href":"https:\/\/studentweb.bellevuecollege.edu\/belletrist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292\/revisions\/633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentweb.bellevuecollege.edu\/belletrist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentweb.bellevuecollege.edu\/belletrist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentweb.bellevuecollege.edu\/belletrist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}