What History Didn't Teach Me

I recall the syllabus,
Important dates and events;
And of all the names on the list,
Yours it didn't document,
And for this error, I didn't learn about one of the greatest,
Born May 19, 1987 --
I didn't learn about you, Danielle Gratton...


So, all the while I was oblivious,
I thought I was truly learning,
But no! -- I wasn't taught of the girl in Portsmouth,
Who is one of the more ardent fans of pro wrestling --
I learned of knights and conquests,
Yet omitted from the curriculum was a girl just as swashbuckling?!
One of history's more beauteous,
Discarded from the annals like waste deposited into a stream.


I recall the lectures,
A whiteboard constantly scrawled upon,
Verily, I was learning -- but au contraire;
Never was there a mention --
Not once did your name fill the air --
Of one Danielle Gratton,
And because of this error,
My learning experience wasn't all it could've been...


From Cleopatra to Hillary Clinton,
The historical timeline makes some significant omissions:
You were born on this day in 1987;
You are an important person;
You are a sensation;
And you're of your parents' greatest guerdons --
Not everyone in this life gets their due recognition;
However, today, I seek to buck that trend.


This is your panegyric,
Just to remind you that you are special,
You know, not everyone has a smile quite as beatific,
Or a warmth that emanates,
Like heat from smoldering coals;
A fanatic of any sort is nonetheless passionate,
And passion is the exuberance of the soul...


To live to the fullest is your shtick,
And no one else does it quite as well.


I recall the syllabus,
Names and events checked off one-by-one,
Like items on a grocery list,
Denoting we'd absorbed the information...
It was the last day -- last chance,
To surface the name yet to be mentioned;
But it ended the same as it commenced...


Since, I penciled your name in,
Telling, now, everyone I can.




- Kevin B. Waring