Belong
At first when swept I did not see a friend
In sight nor when inside I cried for one. In truth I can’t recall until the end,
That nameless end: I relented, not won.
I found my rest outside my own day school,
And turned instead to old friends, who’d grown old.
But then I wound up feeling like a fool,
Blamed on no time, I turned inside and cold.
Long drives, late nights, homework made not my woes:
I did not see any as my brother.
At last, I joined that blue line at the close,
And sang with, now belonged, men for others.
And so they go but you always will know,
To whom and what and when and where you owe.

Jack Anderson completes his senior year now at St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati, Ohio. He will attend Boston College this fall.
Photo by Amelia Anthony