AN ODE TO A UNIVERSITY

In a world of GOLDen lies,
Injustice and Oppression,
An Innocent Student Cries,
with the Pain of Shattered Dreams and Subjugation.

There seems to be no way,
"Smile", they say,
"After all, Convocation is your day!"

Be Polite, Humble and Meek,
An Ideal Student should be like a Sheep,
Say Sorry and look Weak,
Don't let your Self Worth peep.

Internally you may Weep,
But "Smile", they say,
"After all, Convocation is your day!"

Feed their egos,
Do as they say,
Go against your ethos,
Else they will cancel your degree, as they may.

Put on a show instead of a good fight,
"Smile", they say,
"After all, Convocation is your day!"

"We care about our students,
They are our number one Priority"
Dean Ma'am, save these lines for your advertisements,
Spare the innocent your tone of authority.

Their actions contrast their words,
"Smile", they say,
"After all, Convocation is your day!"

"We know you deserve it,
But we can't give you the Gold Medal.
There is a rule and we blindly serve it,
Can't you see, we put our Founder President on a pedestal?"

Nerve-wrecked, Broken and Devastated is the student
But "Smile", they say,
"After all, Convocation is your day!"

They don't understand,
No one thus far had worked hard enough and wanted it as much,
And Time was slipping away like sand,
There was no solution as such.

The student felt utterly powerless yet
"Smile", they say,
"After all, Convocation is your day!"

One week before D-Day,
There was seemingly no ray of hope,
The cold university showed no response, remorse, repentance or way,
The student sent an email again to widen the scope.

All hell broke loose for the student from then on
But "Smile", they say,
"After all, Convocation is your day!"

The mention of the word "Media" became her undoing,
Threatened she was with legal consequences grave,
The Big Bad Wolf was called to do the University's cooing,
Her maligned reputation she now had no way to save.

The student was in heart-wrenching pain and
"Smile", they say,
"After all, Convocation is your day!"

Nobody knows that Deep inside the fighting student,
Is a little girl who just wanted to make her parents proud,
In her desperate last minute fight to win she let go of what was prudent,
She wanted the University to hear her demands out loud.

The little girl was hurt and betrayed,
But "Smile", they say,
"After all, Convocation is your day!"

All that little girl ever dreamt of was seeing her parents on stage,
In limelight, glowing with pride,
To receive an award she won fair and square with no outrage,
Alas! The University crushed her spirit, her well-deserved prize unjustly denied.

Little Girl, Don't be Brave!
"Smile", they say,
"After all, Convocation is your day!"

The rule was Unjust, Illogical, Unfair and Stupid,
But calling it so made the student a Traitor,
Uncomprehending Dean took it personally and ran after her rabid,
And the University refused to wake up from its Stupor.

A bright student they lost that way,
But "Smile", they say,
"After all, Convocation is your day!"

Called out was the student in public,
Dean filled with rage created quite a ruckus,
She attacked the student defying all rubric,
Her behavior denying any decency and moving freely towards excess.

Dean ended her attack in the following way,
"Smile", they say,
"After all, Convocation is your day!"

Dean Ma'am, Stop yelling at the teachers,
It's not their fault,
The University is using them like inhuman creatures,
Making them work day and night without a halt.

Their Teachers suffer more than students,
"Smile", they say,
"After all, Convocation is your day!"

Dean Ma'am, the student shall never forgive you,
You made her very dear HOI cry,
Tears in the HOI's eyes - did they not rile you?
The student's spirit shook at their sight and she heaved out a sigh.

The HOI cried and so did the student,
But "Smile", they say,
"After all, Convocation is your day!"

Her dreams shattered, career on line,
The unyielding University committed the worst crime,
They forbid a high achiever to shine,
And where there was once respect, now only hatred and anger entwine.

They sow seeds of hopelessness in her young heart and,
"Smile", they say,
"After all, Convocation is your day!"

They marred her soul,
Eternal is the damage,
Ruthlessly punctured her life and left a gaping hole,
Bleeding profusely is her wound savage.

A huge part of her is broken and dying,
But "Smile", they say,
"After all, Convocation is your day!"