Tuesday 13 August 2013

Elegy on the End of ADLS

This is something I wrote that summarized how I felt about ALDS. I just posted it on the forum there but thought I can put it up here as well

Elegy on the End of ADLS



Lo,  the time is nigh to bid adieu
To Lauren and Andy and all the rest too,   
And not last,never!  to our intrepid Sue,
As we journey on to courses anew.

We reached out and touched the past, each one
From moon to moon, and sun to sun 
We toiled and labored and had our fun
Speak not of dull moments!  for there were none.

Dowsing and drawing and digging and dating,
Surveying and sifting, always back filling,
Finding and measuring, labeling and archiving,
Conserving, preserving, for truth always striving.

The poetry of stone, the beauty of pot
The tool knapped, the metal wrought
The script deciphered, the stories bones brought
The questions asked, the answers sought.

3d models of shapeless heads,
Sifting through garbage, stymied with dread,
We wrote, we argued, we mapped, we read,
We flirted with Paxil, enough said !

We sojourned on with indefatigable peers,
Those wise of wit, and mature years,
To you all a big thanks and three cheers
O! to carry on thus, forever near.

But, miles away, most of us, I wish we could drown
In the august atmosphere at Brown
O! To belong to such a place of renown
Whose generosity knows no bounds.

So, move on we must anon, to A Brief History,
To Volcanoes and Modern Poetry,
To Dino-Paleontology,
Never forgetting this camaraderie.

Let the future students in Coursera hark,
For in these virtual strata have we left our mark,
To new from old, to light from dark,
The start of something new, a spark

Of love for archaeology, so Sue
Please ! Lead us on to ADLS 2...

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