Solace in Walt Whitman's River, My University's Bench

The other day I stood in front of what used to be the offices of the Brooklyn Eagle, a newspaper edited by Walt Whitman.  I saw this inscription and it reminded me of another one of my favorite inscriptions on a stone bench at my alma mater, Cornell University (so maybe I've mentioned this bench one or one hundred times before.)

The Brooklyn Eagle inscription:

I am with you, you men and women of a generation, or ever so many generations hence.  Just as you feel when you look on the river and sky, so I felt...Walt Whitman, crossing Brooklyn ferry

The bench inscription:

To those who shall sit here rejoicing; To those who shall sit here mourning; Sympathy and greeting; so have we done in our time. 1892

Not to sound all hippy dippy sighy but I find peace in these special spots, looking at these words.  There's great comfort in knowing that others have survived our hurt and experienced our joy.

U is for University

More specifically, Cornell University, which is where I got my undergraduate degree. I always think that Cornell is where I found my voice. Not just a voice in my writing, but an actual voice as well. Up until that point I had been a little frightened to speak up and be the person I wanted to be. But, in my time there, it seemed I was not afraid to say or do anything.

When I think of the things I did, I surprise myself with the memory. I think of the classes I spoke in front of, the singing auditions I attempted, the actors that gave voice to my short plays in theatre classes, the stories I read out loud in workshops. And of course, I remember my closest friends, who are the friends I always imagined having. The bars we frequented, the plantations we wandered through, the midnight swims in the steep gorges, the drives to the secret swimming hole where I sat underneath waterfalls in the pouring rain.

It's been nearly ten years since I graduated, but I remember that being a time of true freedom. A time to explore and become.

I always think of this bench which sits on top of the slope and overlooks the lake. The quote carved into it encompasses everything I felt during my time there. It was a time of extreme emotions. The first time I felt a part of something larger and more real than anything I had experienced before it. It might also explain why I never felt afraid.

To those who shall sit here rejoicing

To those who shall sit here mourning

Sympathy and greeting

So have we done in our time

1892


Photo Credit: vonhohenstaufen