Maryville University Poem

Posted on July 31, 2016 by clydeaidoo — Leave a comment

From Alma Mater Vol. 1: The Midwest. Available Now!

*Maryville University*

Go—Tell it on the mountain,
And over our hills that
Maryville is mounting.
Moving through suburban trails to everywhere,
The Red, Black & White our Saints adorn.
Through the Sacred Heart our start was born.
Now the colors of our hearts spread everywhere.

The Maryville family is moving,
Awakening the lakes of Missouri with sails,
The efforts of our students in scholarship tells
That even athletes with scholarships are always improving.
Our athletes graduate at a rate that shatters
Past records of performance with rigorous training,
Beneath the weight of knowledge in our library hanging,
Our jocks crush & hush stereotypical chatter.
From these quiet trails our Saints reform
A small vedette to vast faith we stand & guard,
Name any unreachable standard,
Then this miracle we will
Over-Perform.

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.

Tagged with: Books, College, Literature, Midwest, Poetry, Poetry Books, United States, Writing
Posted in Alma Mater, Uncategorized

Me Against the World

Posted on July 30, 2016 by clydeaidoo — Leave a comment

From Art of Mind II: All In
Available Now: http://www.amazon.com/Art-Mind-II-All-In/dp/0615547028/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1388603246&sr=8-2&keywords=Clyde+Aidoo

*Me Against the World*

Never take your eyes off the opponent…
Any great will tell you that.
Even before the bell…
Tyson was the best at that.
I’m alone in the corner.
Eyes on opponent.
Always on opponent.
I pace, loosen, stretch, waggle.
They may remain steady
or step violently in an attempt to intimidate.
My eyes shift with them.
Where they go, my eyes follow. Every movement is countered by my head.
My focus is undaunted, unflinching.
Finally, we meet in the center.
Human rulebooks stand in-between…
Telling me what I can and can’t do.
I pay no attention.
I stay focused on my opponent.
I make no faces —
No menacing gestures.
I just stare.
One of Tyson’s victims swayed during the staredown…
Trying to stay active and keep his energy.
Tyson’s head remained firm as Iron,
but his eyes swayed with the opponent.
Left to the right. Right to left. His eyes followed.

I go back to my small corner
where no one can touch me.
My opponent has already been announced.
The match already set.
It’s Me Against the World.
Bell rings.
I leave my corner in pursuit of a partner.
A Formidable Tag Team Duo.
Together let’s win the title; Change the title:
*Us Against the World*

Tagged with: Books, College, Literature, Midwest, Poetry, Poetry Books, Writing
Posted in Art of Mind, Uncategorized

University of Minnesota Duluth Poem

Posted on July 30, 2016 by clydeaidoo — Leave a comment

From Alma Mater Vol. 1: The Midwest. Available Now!

*UMD*

This world is not a place of those who can and those who can’t,
It is a world of those who can and those who won’t,
Shannon & Her Teams prove to those who say that women can’t:
That this world is about those who believe and those who don’t.
Bulldog Women’s Hockey won the first National Championship
Through Miller’s Belief with leadership from Maria and crew,
The Men’s National Champions of 2011 helped guide the ship,
Along with Five Women’s Titles to prove we’re the “those” that do.
Hark! The Duluth Bulldogs have earned a prideful bark!
Along with the pleasure of enjoying the Duluth Nightlife,
Countless bars and pubs then tomorrow to Canal Park,
At Duluth South Breakwater Inner Light.
Breathe the natural beauty of Lake Superior and waterfront,
Carry on like the S.S. William A. Irvin,
Our Drive is for Discovery and there are Bulldogs up front,
When in misty turbulence, stay the course & keep swervin’.
The Duluth Bulldogs are roused by the life our waters arouse,
Those who can: guide themselves and sails of others,
And those who can: adjust the world’s mapped routes…
Causing the waters
to shed from others.

Tagged with: Books, College, Feminism, Hockey, Literature, Midwest, Minnesota, Poetry, Poetry Books, Writing
Posted in Alma Mater, Uncategorized

University of Missouri – St. Louis Poem

Posted on July 30, 2016 by clydeaidoo — Leave a comment

*UMSL*

Tritons choose UMSL because on a day like UMSL Day,
They’ve already opened the future before us;
And they give us a cordial welcome
To where we want to go.
With St. Louis jazz in the background, the youth of Missouri gets a glimpse into the ultrasound of this future life. And unlike next year beneath three-hour lectures, these future Tritons hang on the faculty’s every breath.
Every department is here to tell students like a high-school senior from Overland about the nationally recognized Criminal Justice program.
A student from Lafayette High School is learning about the International Business program, and how like Triton of mythology—
He can advance over seas.
The Faculty and Current Students are translating the UMSL Code for those who next fall will come to understand:
That UMSL is simply home.
In two years a visitor from Wildwood will change places, and stand among the voices of the campus calling the future forward,
And he’ll tell high-school seniors that he chose UMSL because it was days like today, along with full packages of aid, and a caring faculty built on a campus of trust,
That showed it wasn’t these students who chose to go to UMSL,
It was UMSL—
That chose us.

Tagged with: Books, College, Literature, Midwest, Poetry, Poetry Books, United States, Writing
Posted in Alma Mater, Uncategorized

A Salesman’s Omission

Posted on July 28, 2016 by clydeaidoo — Leave a comment

From Art of Mind II: All In
Available Now

*A Salesman’s Omission*

“Go out and Live!”
Exclaims the world!
They sell the notion of
Living Every Day
Like it’s the last
and to not let a single minute
Be lost.
With a drowsy eye
and a wavering head —
I sit up in my bed,
and skeptically ask:

“How much does that cost?”

Tagged with: Books, Literature, Poetry, Poetry Books, Writing
Posted in Art of Mind, Uncategorized

University of St. Thomas Poem

Posted on July 28, 2016 by clydeaidoo — Leave a comment

From Alma Mater Vol. 1: The Midwest. Available Now!

*St. Thomas*

UST is the heart of Trust,
In St. Thomas, our light thrusts—
Illuminating the world is better than to shine,
The divine credit is neither yours nor mine.
The charity of God began in the earth’s crust,
With St. Thomas’ foundation—This is our shrine,
Devoted to serve by pushing ourselves,
Toiling with study and working our shelves,
For living well is tantamount to working well,
Restless activity for every man to dwell—
Together through work where every man delves
In a harbor of healing—where the grief fell.
A world reunited with the harmony of stars,
Sharing possessions—healing the scars
Of wounded extremities where anguish lives,
Love is the charity that counts not what it gives.
The measure of a man is the injustice he bars
By changing our world with the faith that he lives.

Tagged with: Books, Christianity, College, Literature, Midwest, Poetry, Poetry Books, United States, Writing
Posted in Alma Mater, Uncategorized

St. Cloud State University Poem

Posted on July 28, 2016 by clydeaidoo — Leave a comment

From Alma Mater Vol. 1: The Midwest. Available Now!

*St. Cloud State University*

It is a Husky Day in St. Cloud, Minnesota.
Neighboring the Beaver Islands, our school spirit is supported by a
Blizzard
of red and black
that twists with our Huskies in a Minnesota snowstorm…
The origins of which can be traced back to
Mainstreet—
Where the Huskies
First meet;
Now the force has progressed in a
St. Cloud City Parade and in a
Lemonade Concert with crafts made of our wild spirits
and then our wild spirits makes its craft out of hockey
in the National Hockey Center.

Then the craft goes wild.

Cheering on Olympians like Bret Hedican and WCHA Player of the Year, Drew LeBlanc, our Hockey represents the Husky tradition:
We are up for any challenge.
Engage the world by challenging yourself….
Just because life is bigger than you,
Doesn’t mean you can’t take it on.

At St. Cloud you are given real-world education so that you are equipped for this ongoing fight…

Education for Life.

Tagged with: Books, College, Hockey, Literature, Midwest, Poetry, Poetry Books, United States, Writing
Posted in Alma Mater, Uncategorized

University of Minnesota Poem

Posted on July 27, 2016 by clydeaidoo — Leave a comment

From Alma Mater Vol. 1: The Midwest. Available Now!

*University of Minnesota*

Minnesota is blessed with water in acres,
Our many lakes and skyscrapers make us great,
We run through our mills and life’s purity distilled:

This is the Gopher State.

Over 10,000 lakes form the Land of Sky-Blue Waters,
Between the Mississippi are campuses on either bank,
The U of M is the Gateway to guarded history,
A better school, to be sure—to be frank.
With America’s mall and state fair at our shoulders,
We shrug off the boasts of all the other burgs,
The school of Twin Cities is the wedge of opportunity,
Taking full swing like our own Patty Berg.

An F5 of pride rolls across the Wash’ Ave’ Bridge,
Onto the East Bank of TCF and Will’ Arena,
Among the affected is the stock in the Barnyard,
Rabid Gophers with the fervor of hyenas.
Craving Big Ten Basketball and Big Ten Football,
We outwrestle competition in the name of tradition;
We defend our border from Badgers at all costs,
To this conviction we will wage our tuition.

When the Maroon and Gold is in the fold,
Take it all in, have a seat, and snag a scene,
Then read on the changes of student expression
In the latest issue of The Wake Magazine.
They may catch up on our news but not our chemistry,
Our chem-engineering turns molecules to modules
That fuels new concepts that react to overdue process
Converting life science into modern rules.

We’re pioneers, frontiers, and centennial men,
Global women of the Superblock and this community,
Who lend a hand to hear talented local bands,
Service provided for betterment,
Not self-impunity.
Time at the U illuminates many local paths,
Shedding light to guide youths through all the fray,
We guide our own and build tunnels for the next passage,
And say:

That is the Gopher Way.

Tagged with: Books, College, Literature, Midwest, Minnesota, Poetry, Poetry Books, Writing
Posted in Alma Mater, Uncategorized

Unsung

Posted on July 27, 2016 by clydeaidoo — Leave a comment

From Art of Mind II: All In

*Unsung*

It’s sad how narrow a voice can travel,
Even with the Range of a Soprano —
Just because so many doors are closed.

There’s only room for so many Divas…
You can belt your heart out and shatter glasses
but you cannot crack Ear-Muffs…
You’re a superstar blending with the rest of the masses,
It seems that’s just tough luck.

There’s a voice as pure as Norah’s,
With a pitch that cannot be made clearer…
Yes, Somewhere — there is Someone Singing:
And No One is around to hear her.

Tagged with: Books, Literature, Poetry, Poetry Books, Writing
Posted in Art of Mind, Uncategorized

Michigan State University Poem

Posted on July 27, 2016 by clydeaidoo — Leave a comment

From Alma Mater Vol. 1: The Midwest. Available Now!

*Michigan State*

MSU entrants travel cross-country across the Red Cedar River of East Lansing to reach the epitome of the college experience.
They are greeted by abundant trees, winding roads, and gothic architecture beyond the forested corridors. At the intersection of Chestnut and Kalamazoo, south of the Cedar River, they meet
The Spartan.
It is at this junction when entrants, guests, and intruders alike realize that
This is the Spartan State—Not Wolverine Country.
Prowlers will not prance. Only
Real Spartans Advance.
Transforming Lives by Advancing Knowledge.
We preserve energy for essential encounters and destroy the hazardous pollution of reservation to defend this land.
Proceed, New Entrants! Maintain this Environment!
Go Green.

Spartans, Stand Strong
on this land your ancestors built.
This pioneer land grants students with the exploration of nuclear physics, osteopathic medicine, industrial and organizational psychology, and we continue forward in our advancement of knowledge by placing only the nation’s best new teachers in the elementary and secondary classrooms. We rehabilitate distressed minds that have lost their ways so that they, too, can advance to their goals. Say it Loud:

We Are Spartans!

Led by Sparty we fill the Spartan Stadium with Spartan Pride—

You are now surrounded by the Spartan Army.

In Breslin, where the winner is determined by determination,
You will know
the
Spartan Will.

There is magic in this storied center. With a rich basketball tradition, we have hoisted 13 Big Ten championships and two national championships.
We tried to send out a raven to tell the world of our conquers,
but
Our Magic killed The Bird.

Fear the Spartans.

Take heed of the army going down the downtown strip.
This is a Greek community of over 50 organizations.
We started as the 300,
now over
3,000 in this Greek Nation…

And that still leaves over 40,000 thirsty Spartans ready to fill their cups.

Our Spartans spread out across the globe in their pursuits of educational dominance more than any institution in this nation. We also fight from home to keep the peace abroad. We fight against South African apartheid and for worldwide freedom
While defending the political advancement of this great country.

We believe change starts here in this miraculous institution.

And we vow not to stop at the pages of the Red Cedar Log. No, our journey is just beginning.
Young warriors, when you surmount your beloved institution, and graduate to the vast, intimidating world at your feet. Do not let these tears slow you down…

Spartans,

Go Forth

Tagged with: Books, College, College Life, Literature, Midwest, Poetry, Poetry Books, United States, Writing
Posted in Alma Mater, Uncategorized

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