55 Year-Old Shoes in Which to Walk

1. 1955 Iowa State University

Richard Pratt poses pressed in an off-white suit and dark tie.
The Men’s Residence Association Head Residents
Are paragons of model students, poised and pristine.
They are serious, clean-combed, and engaged in official conversation.
Richard, known as Dick, although soft-spoken is not nearly so serious.
He grins with Godfrey, his house in Friley.
Those boys are good at sports, second in the men’s division.
Dick goes to Memorial Lutheran Church on Sundays.
He is intelligent, works hard, and has a bright future.

2. 2010 Iowa State University

Rachel Pratt poses with a smile in a dark dress and heels.
It is a dance benefiting Haiti, and she is glad to be there.
Although she is Vice President of
Sigma Tau Delta, International English Honor Society
And loves serving as social chair in Barton Tappan
(even if the D-league intramural basketball team she captains is not conquering)
And goes to Cornerstone Church on Sundays
She thinks of her grandfather when she is thumbing through an ancient yearbook
Suddenly struck by a strange nostalgia claimed by blood.
She remembers, as she resolutely returns to her homework, how Grandpa
Grandma, Aunt Sharon, Uncle Scott, Mom, and Dad all remind her
She is intelligent, works hard, and has a bright future.