Azusa Pacific University

Posted on November 22, 2024 by clydeaidoo — Leave a comment

*Azusa Pacific University*

In the thankful speeches of awarded Cougars,
Who are recipients, but share the credit,
The names accounted for are never forgotten,
They pour out easily for they are embedded.

They thank fathers who’ve been there from birth,
And who stuck around—to hear the first utters,
Mothers who have helped develop this speech,
And help work through life’s stumbles and stutters.

They thank professors who kept them in place,
And their eyes on the prize during each saccade,
They helped pry apertures before departure,
In order to spot light from the facades.

Now they share the spotlight with true friends,
Or coaches who pushed them to push back
When met with adversity, trials of the varsity,
And to claim awards of glory with tact.

They thank conductors who directed the choir,
Of the Chamber Singers who pulled them through,
To uplift to a praise from the ICC,
And they’re sure to give thanks to APU.

They thank the people who’ve been there for them,
Not just through the best, but always through the worst,
But before they say these names, they remember how they got here:
They were sure to put God First.

From Alma Mater Vol. 3: The West
You can read the full four-volume Alma Mater collection here.
©2016. Original Clyde Aidoo. All rights reserved

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Fresno State University Poem

Posted on November 21, 2024 by clydeaidoo — Leave a comment

*Fresno State*

What goes on behind the scenes—and by what means—
Does Fresno go to stay on the make?
Where do they find the time to craft such winery?
And how do they combine such sweet refinery?

What goes on behind the scenes of these award-winning flavors?
And how do they convene to put in all the labor?
In the enterprises across the campus brought to the Gibson market,
After tending to the crops, cattle, and swine,
We soothe a hard day’s work with the balance of wine.

And we have all aged with vineyard ways
And each year gets better at Vintage Days.

50,000 from all ages
come to Fresno to enjoy this showcase
of
what various craftsmen have been waiting to share.

They enjoy Boomtown Food and Games, live entertainment,
And sample Fresno through beer & wine tastings as well as the
Features of this three-day event.
Some who attend this event are seniors in high school,
And when they hear about what has been made here, and what’s been done…
Such as the winning of the 2008 Baseball Championship…
Then hear about the hundreds of awards that’s been won,
They can’t help wondering what went into all of this.
And though they may not know how we’ve done it,
They know whatever it took,
That whatever it takes,

They’ll join the enterprise next year after making it.

From Alma Mater Vol. 3: The West
You can read the full four-volume Alma Mater collection here.
©2016. Original Clyde Aidoo. All rights reserved

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Posted in Poetry

Pepperdine University Poem

Posted on November 21, 2024 by clydeaidoo — Leave a comment

*Pepperdine University*

By George,
What an image in this name.
Thank God we’ve got it.
The scene of the ’Bu
That opens with the Blue
A beauteous home with a
Pacific View.
A view of the ocean that seems to follow our Waves
Wherever they go; They go with the flow
of this free life that we detain in & out
of beautiful dorms
&
in all forms:
Zuma, Songfest, Follies, Souls
that rise each time the sun sets…

Anyone who has ever seen a Malibu sunset,
Believes in the everlasting drive to get up.

When you see the Waves on the beach
Right there you know what it means to be free.
Where all are received as they are
In a rhythmic flow where everyone’s free,
Even our mascot, free Willy.
All our captured by the surge of the Waves
And are released onto the ocean to go
&
Live Free.

By God,
What an image in His name.
Praise Him for allowing us
To have it.
And we will work to maintain it.
With Project Serve and in long hours
Outside of the classroom where we stay up
To keep our rightful status as one of the best schools
In the Western apparatus. A student body that is cleansed
Every time
An ocean view, sunset, cliff, or a crisp sandy beach
Is what we see;
In the God-directed scene of Malibu, California,
Go & Take it All,
Baby, it’s all free.

From Alma Mater Vol. 3: The West
You can read the full four-volume Alma Mater collection here.
©2016. Original Clyde Aidoo. All rights reserved

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Posted in Poetry

UC Irvine Poem

Posted on November 21, 2024 by clydeaidoo — Leave a comment

*UC Irvine*

It is our pleasure to serve and put in motion
the pleasures reserved and it begins with the notion
That being known is not as fond as what for,
We assist mates and give their troubles what for.

Whether with friends on the beach or in Bren Center,
each volleyball victory requires the right assists.
Since entering the Division I level, with stars like
Matt Webber, Carson Clark, Taylor Wilson and Kevin Tillie,
UCI has been able to win four national championships in seven years
Along with the stem-cell advancers who have also won—
In battles against eye disease to unite many with the light of Irvine:

The irenic Californian cyclorama:
The skies above the ocean’s pull rubbed against,
New eyes stare to see what they are up against:
The blue beachside
That is by your side.
When accompanied by the dark shadows of abandon,
The sight of sites of the coast will be your companion
Along with the many of the Irvine shore:
Aldrich Park, Zot Zone and the many more.
With new insight they can now dig the beach
And all the other many of Irvine’s feats:

Such as the championships won by a volleyball team
That makes this campus look like Lord of the Rings.

You deserve to be a part of this.
And everyone deserves to see the light,
And realize that when the foam clears
You can set your sights on Cali’s intoxicants,

Then take in every last ounce.

From Alma Mater Vol. 3: The West
You can read the full four-volume Alma Mater collection here.
©2016. Original Clyde Aidoo. All rights reserved

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Posted in Poetry

Biola University Poem

Posted on November 21, 2024 by clydeaidoo — Leave a comment

*Biola University*

In such institutes as this with science and what ifs,
We are all bestowed with the natural gifts.
Questions shall exist long after our time drifts,
But how can man question such evident gifts?
What we earned is worked for in course of four-year shifts,
but
We are all delivered with these natural gifts:

The eyes to see the library’s Tower of Light,
The eyes for the Mural to Rise in plain sight.

Nostrils to smell clean air by the fountain of Fluor,
And hints when friends pass by to linger outdoors.

Mouths for Bon Appétit where jaws freely pry,
The mouth to enjoy flavors of sweet Punk ’N’ Pie.

The ears to hear the sounds of bands at Eddy’s,
And Biola Bells that put one at ease.

The hands to touch each other with gestures of thought,
With the warmth of Christmas—our gift the Son brought.

The sense to feel the magic of life everywhere,
And the sense to know some thought put it there.

Like Missions Conference where thought powers the mind,
These gifts are showered by
Intelligence by Design.

From Alma Mater Vol. 3: The West
You can read the full four-volume Alma Mater collection here.
©2016. Original Clyde Aidoo. All rights reserved

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University of San Diego Poem

Posted on November 20, 2024 by clydeaidoo — Leave a comment

*University of San Diego*

The Torero spirit sends forth,
Like a riled bull, shot from the gate,
Chargers diehard to ride the North,
Joined by brethren en route to the gates,
Delivered Peace and Justice—is the freight.

Through sanative sights atop Mission Bay,
Toreros are freed with senses apeak,
Then free other souls that missed the way
To empowerment now with voices that speak
With a congregate voice that lifts the weak.

A school with belief in the rouse of beauty,
How in this setting the mind may travel
Closer to truth when strapped for study,
Then watch the ways of the brain unravel
Words that spread ‘yond Towers of Babel.

A uniting tongue from this Changemaker Hub,
A language of Peace and Justice on data,
Sent worldwide in what consists of
USD students in an armada
Off from the Top of Immaculata.

From Alma Mater Vol. 3: The West
You can read the full four-volume Alma Mater collection here.
©2016. Original Clyde Aidoo. All rights reserved

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Posted in Poetry

UC San Diego Poem

Posted on November 20, 2024 by clydeaidoo — Leave a comment

*UC San Diego*

Let’s take it outside.
And see if we can handle this.

The experience that begins with stepping onto
La Jolla sunshine for the first time:
And receiving a warm welcome.
It’s waiting for you outside
for UnOlympic Games with the unfamiliar names
Who have adopted this Vista View:
Now this family shares the same name as you.

Welcome to a family that welcomes all
with an All-Campus Dance,
You asked to feel California:
Now is your chance.
The four-year party: Has begun,
Don’t run—Tan the Hide: Come on outside.
Makeover the urges to hide safe inside,
Get out—Tan the Hide:
Come on outside.
Out to RIMAC where the first party at,
And at Sun God it brings the whole party back:
For a festival of music where amp stars compose
Hot bursts from the fires that soundly transpose
Moves caused by the stars—into stellar bodies,
Fires started on stage—now it’s everybody’s.
Come on outside
&
Gather ’round the fire.

Outside. Where on the first week, you Meet the Beach; you haven’t seen San Diego till you reach the beach.
Look up what it means to have this view upon admission,
And find “The School at the Beach” is our standard definition.
When the ocean rushes & greets you: wave back,
You’re lost without the need to ever find your way back.
The beaches are really something. Something Pacific.
Something Sublime—to be specific.
When compared to other schools we pull the SD card,
And the memories of the ocean—
Swell our home yard.

Outside you’ll find art in Stuart’s Collection and
Geisel Library with prismatic direction.
Out on Snake Path to the faultless Geisel,
Read/Write/Think/Dream without revisal.
Outside on Matthews for Hullabaloo,
Outside Town Square by Triton’s statue.
Price Center Plaza to enjoy a sunny day,
&
Revelle Fountain, letting Blue & Gold spray.
The eucalyptus grove—listening to the trees,
Singing & Speaking—the volume never leaves,
If a tree falls with none around—does it make a sound?
At UCSD—trees’ volume never leaves.
Come out to the lawn of our own Stonehenge,
The Project where fertile conversations unhinge.
Come out to Farmer’s Market—here on Tuesdays,
Then squeal Tijuana to San Diego padres.
Come to the courtyard to pose by the Bear
On graduation day then depart from the lair.
Tritons found at home—a daily bright side,
Now it is time to
Venture Outside.

From Alma Mater Vol. 3: The West
You can read the full four-volume Alma Mater collection here.
©2016. Original Clyde Aidoo. All rights reserved

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Caltech Poem

Posted on November 20, 2024 by clydeaidoo — Leave a comment

*Caltech*

The Big Bang that made Caltech
Is the expansion of this blazed state,
Caused by pranksters, protons, professors—
With each expanse look at what we create:
The best school of technology & science,
Some say they’re the best, we reply, “that’s cute,”
We’re more creative than any other school,
Including That Other Institute.
Ditch Day is here—so here we go,
To explore the universe and any work—we shun,
With a manmade galaxy of contraptions and gadgets:
Caltech’s creators all make their own fun.
While seniors are off enjoying Rose Town,
The underclassmen deal with the Stacks,
Each House of Caltech has a strong bond…
And oh how these bonds react.
It begins with the first Rotation,
From Day One everything revolves—
Around this superawesometastic creation,
Which not only includes, but also involves.
Prefrosh tour Houses and find discovery…
Notably where they want to be,
Keep delving Cal’s space and it won’t be long
Till you find the House where you belong.

Could be Dabney Hovse as a Pumpkin-Drop host,
Carving in the letters: DEI,
In this class it’s never too late to drop,
When the Nitrogen falls, Techers let the sparks fly.
Or you may decide to become a Lloydie,
And help erect the Lloyd Christmas Tree,
A Pageboy that’s grateful not to suck,
Or a Rudd: The Navy of the North Three.
Or travel South and join Fleming House,
Where you’ll hear the cheer, “Go Big Red!”
This House is the home of the Fleming Cannon,
And pranksters who knock victims down a peg.
Or join the Skurves and fight for the brake drum,
Win or lose they will take you as you are,
Ricketts Hovse is the place to light your fire,
And then burn the house down until it turns tar.
You could join Avery and then Team Gotcha,
And spray each other daily if that’s your thang,
Or become a Mole over in the Blacker Hovse
As part of that God Damn Blacker Gang.
There’s competitions of intrahouse and interhouse
No matter the house when you decide to enter house,
Be prepared to compete but first wipe your feet,
Of past travels when glory’s at your feet.

Caltech, like all California, is heaven,
The beauty, the weather, this City of Roses,
A campus with pulchritude in high magnitude,
And an intake of scenery in Tech’s large doses.
The scenery in The Dena is known to take all,
Whichever house he’s from, she will accept him,
Let any Beaver plow through these gorgeous gardens,
That is, unless, his name is “Tim.”
Every season is RF Season,
Pulling pranks is easy as it can be,
Like ex-lax in the coffee as the victim heads off,
Saying, “I have to take an M-I-T!”
Every Tech House has Techers inside
Who take strong pride in their abode,
And when a guy tries to take a girl home,
She’s reminded of the Honor Code.
Where it’s OK to make scores at home,
The code assures he won’t take advantage!
And with the girls being so outnumbered,
He’s already at a disadvantage!
Techers hear Ride of the Valkyries play
Before charging through tests standing in the way
Of going on to be Masters in every aspect
And make bangs from the gold mine that is Caltech.

From Alma Mater Vol. 3: The West
You can read the full four-volume Alma Mater collection here.
©2016. Original Clyde Aidoo. All rights reserved

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Posted in Poetry

Stanford University Poem

Posted on November 19, 2024 by clydeaidoo — Leave a comment

*Stanford University*

The Stanford wind has blown in varied leaves from all 50 states joining in a Powwow
of free spirits who have flown in domestically and internationally to sing in Gaieties
that have brought a campus together to compose a wagon of new believers with every member jumping in with
The Band:

We Are All Free:
All Right Now.

On a campus so striking it beats a chord in every stance
like a dirty guitar,
singing with the band
notes of where we are:

We Are Free:
All Right Now.

And when their dirty guitar hits,
Boy does it release us.

On this first day of school, many people have arrived
from a patterned world of obstructions that have kept
every generation from becoming familiar with this
free world. Students who have not only made it
for the first time in their family history, but have made
it past the gates where more people are denied entrance
than any other institution.
A place reserved only for the very best…
And it is a place indeed well earned.

Through persistence,
You have busted yourself free…

Now Run.

Take to the oval flowers where this setting & our stories
Put the S in Stanford.
And bring that beauty with you wherever the wind takes you on the Farm:

The courtyards of the dorms beneath the catching Spanish architecture;
Before the extended collection of bronze Rodin sculptures in the garden;
Inside The Old Union, enjoying a different view of familiar faces every time you gather;
And when bike-riding through Arboretum Road on the way to The Stadium…
Where to wear our school colors deep is the Cardinal rule.

And with the World’s Largest Rock ‘n’ roll band playing it loud,
You can’t help but feel it…

We Are Free,
All Right Now.

And we keep the Bears on lock down.

Seemingly everybody arrives for The Big Game,
But historically, only one team shows up.
And through every Bearial,
We celebrate the life…
Of us.
Stanford, this is your life,
And baby, this: is Stanford.

A place where we didn’t just decide to search ways to change the web,
We Googled It.

We didn’t talk about the latest shoes and how to revolutionize the market,
We Just Did It.

And from all that
We have done,
We have run
The Silicon Valley.

It’s the first day of school, freshmen.
Come Join the Band.
Be led out of your new dorm rooms onto the field where
The wind always seems to blow in our favor.

A junior walking past The Claw finds a new freshman seated by the fountain.
He takes concern for this freshman who is in a foreign place away from home
sitting alone, crying quietly. As the first family member to ever leave home to go to college, she is secluded this first day, but she will go on to hop in this fountain and many others with friends, and dance in an Intertribal Dance Group where though in a much different outlet—she will continue to let her expressions
Run Free like these tears.
The junior assured her that it will be alright and that she will come to love Stanford.
She then lifted her head, and with a rejuvenated smile she assured the kind-hearted stranger
That the tears were from the Stanford wind in her eyes, that already gusts in her heart,
And ever since her heart got wind of this first sight,
She felt the joys of
Falling in love.

From Alma Mater Vol. 3: The West
You can read the full four-volume Alma Mater collection here.
©2016. Original Clyde Aidoo. All rights reserved

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Posted in Poetry

University of Arizona Poem

Posted on November 18, 2024 by clydeaidoo — Leave a comment

*Arizona*

When the game comes to an end,
Link arms with your neighbors.
Sway side to side and sing the Alma Mater…
And partake, and also take witness
To yet another moment that makes college so great.

There are UA stickers on young cheeks; ribbons and shirts of Red and Blue all through the stands,
And something very special that will always stand

With every Wildcat who will forever Bear Down.

***

Bear Down for What!?
Bear Down for What!?
Bear Down for What!?
UA That’s What!
UA That’s What!
UA That’s What!
U-A is What?!
The home of the Zona Zoo,
With tons of places to wreck through,
It’s Tucson, It’s the Wildcats,
In the Wildest Zoo you ever knew.

After Festivals of Books,
We study up the human body,
What’s 40,000 off the hook?
A loose-ass student body.

And you can find ’bout everybody,
At the games where the Zona Zoo gets rowdy,
We’re never spent cuz we have no cap…
And with 18 Nationals and Countin’…
We’re not puttin’ UA on the map,
We put the “A” atop the Mountain.

We’re known to talk that talk,
And then we back it up: that Wildcat Walk,
If you have a breakdown—when the Zoo calls,
That means you got served—that’s our fault.

The strong survive and we run the Pac,
Gotta run to the top—won’t be right back,
Champs hold the straps like a strong backpack,
And when it’s away, okay, we’ll be right back.

We bought into the cause and foes have already paid,
The believers here don’t drink Kool-Aid…

We just drink in Arizona.

The Zoo is selling out McKale,
And tough on teams that enter—that’s the hard sell,
We help our team excel, foes waitin’ to exhale,
They just now learnin’:
The Zona’s hot as hell.

Look who’s marchin’ through: Hey, Band!
Now they play the Bear Down anthem,
The fans won’t sit—until opponents score,
We may not like ’em, but we can stand ’em,
We yell Brick when they miss each shot,
Instead of lobbing better—they throw a tantrum.

And you call yourselves Sun Devils,
Yet you can’t touch us—nope, we’re too hot,
They retake hard lessons, we reachin’ next levels,
while
Devils blow the lead,
The Wildcats blow the spot.

Fourth Avenue, that’s the spot,
Dirtbag’s, ya’already know: that’s the spot,
Straight from the lines of 4th Ave. takin’ shots:
Nice shot, Buddy! Fuckin’ Nice shot!
Fun Dip from Buffet? What a nice shot!
And when the ‘Cats dip, it soon gets hot!
Pool Parties—they’re always hot,
Like Catnip, the Cats get wild,
And we party:
Wildcat style.
A-Stadium is wild, We haka then get wild,
And Downtown weekends:
It’s going Bear Down.

Bear Down for What?
Bear Down for Life.

We Bear Down for the Party,
We Bear Down for the Game:
Where they can’t wear Zona’s colors so Bear Witness to this name.

From Alma Mater Vol. 3: The West
You can read the full four-volume Alma Mater collection here.
©2016. Original Clyde Aidoo. All rights reserved

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Posted in Poetry