Streaking O’er the Campus Madly
By Dwight Norris, High Desert BranchDwight tells us, “I wrote this little poem after college kids started sprinting naked across the campuses of higher learning. I never tried that, but I sure was curious about it. So here are some of my thoughts on this phenomenon recorded about half a century ago.”
‘Twas once a word in the book called
streaking,
Came, it did, just after seeking,
Quite a ways was it past peeking,
And meanings had it some.
Once it meant with colors blending,
Rainbow spectrums never ending,
Hues from heaven ever sending,
Streaking was it then.
Still it meant to rush by quickly
Darting there and going swiftly,
Running fast or walking briskly,
Streaking, o’er again.
Now new crazes sweep our nation,
Give the word more connotation,
Find this searching generation,
Streaking o’er the campus madly!
Theirs is not to cram the booth,
Inventive, bold, and basic youth,
Nor let them yet be called uncouth,
Streaking as they do!
Neither theirs to work the phones,
Nor choking more on goldfish bones,
Let them be called the natural ones,
Streaking o’er the campus madly!
One by one they shed their clothes,
Naked all from head to toes,
N’er recalling any woes,
Streaking out the door!
There they go and running fast,
Sights of them not long do last,
Making crowds to stand aghast,
Streaking o’er the campus madly!
This poem first appeared in the March 2022 Inkslinger,
newsletter of the High Desert Branch.