** This is a poem for Craig Sampson, the Endicott College student who tragically died in a car accident. The author, Julia Gilloran, a student in my Introduction to Creative Writing class knew Craig and offers us this poem.
The Yellow Vest
The yellow vest
A light jacket
worn during all seasons
The one with that fluorescent yellow glow
detected from even the furthest of distances
The yellow vest
Never without the infectious grin
of its jubilant owner
A smile so warm
filled with peace and serenity
The yellow vest
Its neon color
warned us that trouble was soon to follow
As the car turned the corner
to the battered old Freshman dorm
The one right up the hill
The yellow vest
"He never takes that off," we’d complain
Acting as if that flamboyant shade
was the utmost form of embarrassment
But secretly loving every stitch of its being
The yellow vest
Craig’s favorite
Paired with that devious grin
he mastered so well
You’d think it came
with the coat
The yellow vest
those carefree vibes of the boy
we once laughed with
Talked with
And even cried with
The yellow vest
Its doofiness that we would all kill
to see just one more time
Not on the back of his defeated best friend
But on the back of Craig himself
The yellow vest
Brings me back to all the laughs
Like that time he dressed up as Zeus for Halloween
His long, lanky figure unable to fit in the small white sheet
Or how he’d always knock on his neighbor’s door
Only to sprint away in a fit of laughter as it slowly creaked open
The yellow vest
It's soft puffy fabric
Like a hug filled with love and warmth
That we always found ourselves wanting
And sometimes even needing
The yellow vest
It’s just a jacket after all
colors will eventually fade
And stitches will begin to loosen
But that’s the greatest thing about the yellow vest
Clothing can age and become battered
But its owner’s spirit
can live on for eternity
Forever...
tattooed
in our hearts.
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