Feeling Old

martin perrotta

a perfectly lovely
early october evening
56 with grey hair and a slight paunch
part of me feels foolish
walking across campus
7:30 pm evening supper time
students—young—criss-crossing
between library, dining hall and dormitory
I have a shoulder knapsack on one arm
I am torn between enjoying the luscious evening
and feeling the outcast
college is for the young

surely if my professor can ask me
how I feel about Oates on Fiocco
I can ask about how I feel here on campus
walking old and young