When, we are out there

alone, on our own – exploring a whole new world

far from home

a new day arises

when the education of life

opens our eyes

to new ways of thought and energizes new visions

of ideology which uplifts the mind’s biology

with new ways of  finding truth.

But higher learning, the quality of which, is not

just about creating genius,

it is about the friendships that bond,

the religious freedom

of the heart, the politics of independent transitions

and it is about finding ourselves

within a society that has to find its own way

to adapt to our difference.

Higher learning is that need to define

our knowledge and take it to new heights

of understanding

who we are,

who we are to become

by celebrating the history of who we were

and although we are taught to embrace

our dreams and capabilities, it is

the higher learning of life that guides us

to rise and conquer the many possibilities

out there, in a world

that is ready  for us to make our own and take hold.

(c) 2013

Tarringo T. Vaughan

have traveled places,

but never a place quite like this.

big lights, big dreams

shoving their way through the crowded

sidewalks where Asian faces greet Irish eyes

and Latino feet walk past African-American

stares.

Painted sidewalks where Italian hands

weave through Arab eyes and where gay expression

catch the attention of straight admirers.  If you can make

if here, you can make it anywhere,

the big apple of freedom beaming down on

Broadway.  But it is reality’s stage where the

real stories are happening.  Shouts and flashing

lights, taking portraits of the moment

while living in the moment.  Young eyes

stare up into the sky where Billboards

overwhelm the aroma of roasted almonds

and the scent of steaming hotdogs.

From a distance the Empire State building

peeks through the night’s fog, and in a distance,

in the middle of the New York Harbor,

the Statue of Liberty is beaming,

inspiring

the true spirit of this big city

where big dreams are colliding inside a diversity of hope.

© 2013

Tarringo T. Vaughan