From Alma Mater Vol. 2: The Northeast
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St. John’s University*
“’Tis better to give than to receive.”
In this season of giving, the
white winter flakes dress a sweater of
inner warmth outside St. Augustine Hall
for the viewer. The wind is frosty—but shileding
of the nature of this tradition where the snow
brings bodies together.
Within the parameters of St. John’s University
and indeed out into
Queens, Manhattan, & All New York,
To the patterns of Christmas:
We Give.
We give the Bread of Life to the ailing
and underprivileged through
a food pantry & true goods
Rushed to the immobile.
We make Midnight Runs to
Shelters like St. Nick’s like St. Nick—
With red sacks of bundling that share
our school colors. In the struggle against
community downpouring, we are
The Storm Front
of bountiful outpourings.
We also give on campus:
Freshmen receiving free laptops upon entrance,
Live music & coffee at the DAC—where Johnnies
Can enjoy a cup of Joe.
Inside MSG, with assists from
Mark Jackson, Chris Mullin, and coaches like
Carnesecca & Lapchick—
We have given our school a history to be proud of:
A place on the Top 10 list of college basketball’s
Most winningest teams.
The Red Storm takes
The World’s Greatest Arena then
Plunges the World in a program that
Services places like New Salem, Lourdes, and Panama.
Back home we recognize that for some—this season
is often the loneliest,
so at Ozanam Hall we are always
Giving time back to the elderly.
The Ronald McDonald House of Long Island
helps alleviate the pain of children who
suffer, by lifting some of the struggle from those they love most.
And at Christmastime we sponsor families of hardship by
Providing those whose spirits were low:
The returned gift of hope,
That continues to give without furlough.
Christmas is a time to cherish the
Vincentian values,
and the Christmas wish found in the
Miracle of St. John’s—
Where we Give and we also Receive,
but we
never
Take
for granted.
Follow ClydeAidoo.com for more poems from the Art of Mind and Alma Mater series shared daily. You can purchase Clyde Aidoo’s latest release, Alma Mater Vol. 3: The West, a poetic celebration of the top universities of the West by clicking the link below.
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