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Song of LSMSA Stanza 15

The pianist rehearses her composition in the practice room,

The painter works on his capstone, the brush gently leans down to kiss the canvas and pulls away yet again,

The students pile onto the Eagle bus, eager to make it back to their house in time for a home-cooked meal,

The rower grasps the oars, she pushes them against the water with great strength,

The senior waits outside the CCC, ready for his first interview with a college representative,

The teacher sits in his office, hoping for a break from grading papers,

The catholic student walks joyfully with her peers down University Parkway to the church,

The singer does her scales in the choir room, her voice rises and falls with each octave,

The early riser peruses the breakfast line, as he scans the options, he decides which kind of eggs he would prefer,

The night owl at last arrives to her bed in the wee hours of the morning,

(She will not get rest knowing that she has midterm exam tomorrow;)

The professor with kind eyes and shaky hands teaches the class about physics,

He draws a diagram of an elephant on the board while he speaks about motion,

The neon green cake sits untouched on the dessert table,

It was clearly made with large amounts of food coloring,

The homesick boy waits outside the counselor’s office, the students in the wellness room watch him as he enters,

The nurse opens the office for morning medications, the junior walks calmly to class, the late student runs past the Student Activity Center,

The introvert stays in her dorm although her friends are downstairs, (I, too, have been exhausted of talking;)

The volleyball player pulls on his kneepads to begin practice,

The Black Student Union party draws all students, both new and old, some dance together, some just watch,

One sophomore walks up to the crowd, talks to those around her, makes new friends;

The first years meet each other at new student orientation,

As the students work anxiously on their tests, the teacher overlooks confidently,

The intercom calls students to the front desk, the students groan in annoyance, the student that was called scrambles worriedly downstairs,

The exhausted lie down in their lofted beds, the soft patter of rain on the windows lulls them to sleep,

The cricket plots entry routes into the Living Learning Commons,

The computer science club sells delectable bao buns at Eaglestock,

The dreamer stares entranced at the works in the art gallery, she cocks her head and squints to see the details,

As the lab student hurriedly writes his lab report that is due at midnight, his friends play music loudly from a speaker,

The experienced dancer demonstrates the combination for the new dancer, while she watches intently,

The history teacher brings her son to school, he takes his first steps within these very halls,

The lovely artist draws sketches on the paper or on her arm or on the table,

The maintenance people fix a toilet in the dorms, the foundation staff make calls to alumni, the chef waits in the cafeteria to scan IDs,

The band director counts the beats as his students play,

The new student joins basketball, the returner decides to try it out as well,

The raffle tickets are handed out on Wacky Wednesday, the boy waits anxiously for his number to be called, (how difficult it is to hear over the roar of music!)

The coach shouts at his players who sit idly on the sidelines,

The parent walks her kid inside on move in day, (It will be hard for her to let her baby go;)

The graduate adjusts her cap, the time moves slowly as she waits for her turn to walk across the stage,

The Latin student learns how to say, “The father killed his horse”, (He will never again in his life use this phrase;)

The actor practices his monologue outside the black box, his hands and forehead are sweating profusely,

The President of SGO addresses his senators in an early morning meeting, they yawn and rub the sleep out of their eyes,

The trio of friends smile and jest as they walk beside Chaplain’s Lake,

The chemistry student crams several weeks’ worth of homework into one night, (much of this homework is far past due;)

The alum returns to campus to play soccer for Alumni weekend, a strange feeling grows in his stomach as he pulls into the parking lot,

The JCL members film a music video in the quad, they exclaim that they need more togas,

The retired professor lounges on his couch, grateful for the time he gets to spend with his family,

The humanities gonfalonier carries her flag high after reading almost one hundred pages per night for her classes,

The matriculate waits her turn to walk across the stage, glowing from the inside with excitement for this new experience,

The SLA gathers her kids to the common area for a hall meeting, they have too many extension cords again,

The birds sit in the trees above the quad, making music for the students walking below,

The college admissions counselor waits in the recital hall to talk about college essays,

The science speaker sets up his presentation, the scholar attends to get his extra credit,

The undergraduate student at Northwestern State University performs a musical in Theatre West, the LSMSA student watches in absolute awe,

Outside the CPT, the failing student makes his way to supervised study,

The Bursar of NSULA receives payments for LSMSA parking passes,

The security guards watch anime at the front desk while they make sure no one comes on campus,

The thespians urge students to come to their production of SpongeBob the Musical,

The paint peels from the walls of Treen Auditorium, it bends down as if it is reaching for the students,

The convocation speaker talks about different upcoming events on campus, the girl in the back tries to stay awake,

The entire student body prays for fall break to come soon,

The shouts from B Tower fill the air while the girls on A3 try to do their homework peacefully,

The van drives students to and fro, taxiing students to wherever they need to be,

The on-call SLA hopes that they will get no calls, they do not want to be awoken,

The counselor reminds a girl that it will be okay, this moment saves a life,

The music from the NSU band drifts across campus, the traffic zooms by, the siren wails,

The sun shines through the trees, bringing hope to all that there are brighter days ahead,

The bell rings its beautiful ring, and students are released from class,

The drum track plays in Mr. Anderson’s room to let the students know that they are on time,

The student athletes set the gym for their next home volleyball game,

The bibliophile reads in her dorm, she dreams of other worlds, and she dreams of her own future,

The Couvillion dogs, Fitz and Knox, play cheerfully with the students as they make their way to class,

The family gathers to watch their child perform in Evening of Voice, they are overflowing with pride and admiration,

The police lights flash outside of the LLC, the students flock worriedly to the windows,

The librarian provides books to those who are working on research papers,

The hungry sit outside the Eagle Eatery, counting down the seconds until the doors open,

The water of the Cane River glistens,

The clear blue sky expands out, its hues shift to pink, orange, and lavender as the cool night approaches,

The stars gleam as if they are winking at those passing below,

The former SLA invites students to his house so that he can impart his wisdom onto them, they all cherish him very much,

As the boxing instructor teaches the students to jab and block, they try desperately to keep up the pace,

The new couple holds hands for the first time, they are full of hope for what is to come,

The sun rises on a new day, it blazes in through the windows of unsuspecting students,

The ACT approaches swiftly, the juniors feel very ill prepared,

The extroverts buzz and whirl about the LLC, they play games, they tell stories, they make connections,

The undone homework sits useless on the floor, the owner of the homework watches Netflix on her phone again,

In rooms built from cement, glass, and drywall, the student finally finds solace after the worst day she has had in a long time,

The heated blanket warms the spirit of the lonely girl more than it warms her body,

The energy drink revives the exhausted body, though it slowly kills it,

The kitchen serves not only as a place to cook, but as a place of congregation and community on campus,

The resting place of the old dorms casts its shadow in history, it will not soon be forgotten,

The wall of fame boasts its extraordinary host of high-achieving scholars, (Though there are more than could ever fit on a single wall;)

The long drive to swim meets, away games, and field trips brings people closer together than ever before,

The mutual understanding between the student body grows daily, there is an unspoken support, a kind word, a shoulder to lean on,

The stories of alum and former students weave their way into the fabric of the current students,

The seniors cherish their last days, they know that soon everything will be different,

The sophomore sleeps, the second-year senior sleeps, the professor sleeps, and the alum sleeps,

They all know each other in ways that they will not likely understand,

I live within them, and they live within me,

And of these one and all I weave the song of LSMSA.

Huddleston, Isabella. “Song of LSMSA Stanza 15.” Folio, edited by Lily Buckles, LSMSA, 2025, pp. 21-22.

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Song of LSMSA Stanza 15

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