The time has come for us to leave

A time to celebrate our victory,

Our time together, both good and bad

Times of laughter or boredom,

Of shame, love, and envy

This chapter of life is coming to an end

This time of our youth is slipping away

As we live and learn, we pass into something more

So we depart this place of thought and learning

A place of friends, enemies, and crowded hallways

A journey put to rest for it is well needed

But as we pass on, we can’t help but glance back,

And we see so many memories, so dear.

The times of gaiety, of tears of joy,

We glimpse those times of tears of pain.

The rowdy and spirit-lead football games,

 The formal concerts where beautiful music was made

The theatre with its magical performances

The team bonding times, whether softball, track, or basketball

The endless hours in the classroom, waiting for the bell

 To ring, or wanting them to last

The late nights of studying and so-called studying

The summer breaks, full of water, friends, and heat

The favorite teachers, the ones you’ll never forget

And the people who changed our lives

The friend who never left our side

And the ones who did

The new friendships that will last

And the loves that won’t

The teachers whose words are now

Stepping stones for our future

The parents who kept us going

 And the siblings who annoyed us

This part of the painting is done

And there’s no way to erase the paint

But there’s no time for regret,

Not enough time to reminisce.

Because when one chapter ends

Another is set in motion, a new beginning

We won’t be left behind, to stand around

No, we’re going places

Down the roads that will lead us

And we won’t forget what we learned here

This is where we started to form,

To be shaped into what we will be,

And we won’t forget how we got there

So as we step into victory, we’ll glance

For a moment, into the past

Then we will turn to the future

To see what it holds.