Should Old Fireflies Be Forg...Wait, What?

The gentle sky has changed its mind,
And we wake to rain,
Thankful nonetheless;
The snow they warned of has not appeared.
‘Tis a good day for saying goodbye.

Four minutes late I leave my half-unbuilt house
At a full sprint,
My bloated bag, like an anvil in one hand,
My light, spring suit like feathers in the other.
In my BLUE RAV4
Rush (Roll The Bones) jump-starts my mood,
But the farm truck at the head of the line
Is definitely not in any “rush”,
And I roll into Ye Olde Academy
Seven minutes too late.



After the meeting
I duck into a darkened space to change.
My suit pants have an 81cm waist,
But, alas, my gut is now 85.
The jacket hides the jutting handles,
But only just.

All the teachers are in black;
In these islands,
The color of ceremony,
In my mind,
The color of ending.
But today is a new beginning,
Not an end,
For the ones saying goodbye.
The dawn of a new life,
A SPRING life.
Thus am I dressed in GREEN
As I do every year
(Even if it’s f*****g painful!)

The announcement is given,
The fanfare is played,
I give the signal to the guide as rehearsed,
But no one moves,
And the guide only gazes at me
With vacant eyes.
The signal is repeated more violently,
And the line at last heaves forward.
The 12th graders enter the auditorium
Bathed in wonderfully…torpid…applause.



Count the miniskirts and orange hair.
T’was something of a problem class,
Particularly the girls,
Many of them troubled,
Some even violent,
But most of them made it,
And now it’s time to say goodbye.

There are many former members
Of the music club in the line,
But they casually avoid my gaze,
As they do every year,
And as always I'm not sure why.

After the anthems of nation and school,
The orchestra flows away to its chambers.
Rushing downstairs, I open my pants
And heave a big sigh
As my handles deflate.
The speeches will take at least an hour;
Till then I’ll rest in comfort.


Congratulatory messages sent to the graduates by elementary schools, businesses, politicians, etc.

Fifteen minutes before the mark
I squeeze my clothes shut again,
Sneak into a foyer,
Incline my ear,
And panic!
Running, I rally the troops.
The speech-givers, you see, were merciful this year,
And we are fully ten minutes
Ahead of schedule!

The kids find their places
And their chops.
We are ready when the announcement comes,
And we play “Aogeba Toutoshi” (仰げば尊し - “Revere those you look up to”),
The traditional song of parting
Twixt teacher and student,
And the tears begin to flow.
Then we start “Hotaru no Hikari” (蛍の光 – “The Light of Fireflies”,
Aka “Auld Lang Syne”),
And the seniors march away.
Their final task at Ye Olde Academy is done,
And their strange, new journey has just begun.

(Three years in a row I ended the tune
As the last soul left the gate,
But this year the timing was naught to be,
And we finished…five measures too late.
Better luck next year!)
(Now it’s time to chisel off this damned suit!)


The end of the road is the beginning: After the graduation ceremony, the seniors have the customary farewell gathering in the roundabout in front of the campus.