Tom Dylan

To A Lesser Degree

I never went to university

I do not have a degree,

I would have loved to study

literature, history and art.

 

Without a clear idea

of direction or occupation

I drifted into the shackles

of the office nine-to-five.

 

When I hear people talk of campus,

degrees and graduations,

I feel a deep yearning

for the student years I missed.

 

I never attended freshers\' week

never stayed in student halls,

never wore the cap and gown,

in a graduation family photo.

 

Had I gone away to university

I would have got it out of my system,

scratching that academic itch

and obtaining my degree.

 

But the fascination lingers still,

for learning, literature and poetry

for history, for language,

and lectures I never attended.

 

These days I can\'t help thinking,

had I gone to university

I would have spent three years in study

instead of a life-time.