Poems

[AXO_MOM_3]

Thought I would see if any of you had any Alpha Chi Omega or sorority poems you could share. I think this is on our Zeta Xi's chapters website.

What Is A Sorority?

If it's really anything at all,

A sorority is not entirely
a flower, national conventions, monogrammed rings, worn-out songs, bylaws, membership standards, or a golden pen.

And it is not entirely
an institution, a creed, a legacy, an obligation, or a way of life.

If you're going to insist that it is something,

A sorority is only
Moving in for the first time and slowly learning that all beautiful people have fat legs and use mouthwash and wear last year's coats,
Sitting next to an alum you don't particularly like and being nice because maybe it all means something to her,
Long, tired eternities of black coffee and exam snacks when you can't remember the Renaissance architects or the stages of photosynthesis or respiration,
Sitting on the back steps and listening with all your helplessness because she's lost and she's lonely and it seems the whole world just fell into ugly pieces.

And it's
coming in very late one night and closing the door to tell someone who's seen you through the hardest years of your life that you're happy now, and you're getting married.

And a sorority is, I suppose, a kind of evaluation.

You grow up inside these elegant halls
And perhaps you do learn more about this grizzly, ungrateful circus we call life than if you had lived it somewhere else.
You learn that a football player is sometimes just shoulder pads and that skinny arms sometimes hide a great man.
You learn that some lecture halls are just watery echos and that there are silent rooms for deeper rivers.
You learn that no matter where you come from or who took you there, you've still got to find that one small acre that belongs to you, by yourself.
You learn to wait, because chance is slow and change isn't always right.
You learn that there's still a lot left to believe in and a whole lot more to hope for.
You learn that love has never been easy, and it's a long time coming.

And if you're very smart, or very lucky, you learn that no matter how big or how messy the world becomes, what is precious and what is permanent is always the same.

And in the very end
A sorority can only be a better way to stumble down the back steps and out the front door.

[AXO_MOM_3]

Saw this in another forum and thought I'd add it here!


"The Greek That's Written There"

It makes little difference
The size of your pin
Whether it's large or small,
And if its plain
Or brilliant with jewels
Is of no concern at all,


But the vows that you took
Along with your pin,
Have you worn them constantly,
Quietly, deep in the heart
Where no one looks to see?


Have you touched the stars
You reached for once
In your own small piece of sky?
Have you striven for the honorable,
The beautiful, and the high?


What difference then
The shape of the badge,
Be it
Diamond or quill or square
The important thing is
How much do you love
The pin you chose to wear?

[AXO Alum]

"The Greek That's Written There" was the poem that they used for our Rush booklets way back when I went through recruitment. I LOVE that poem - I remember reading it over and over when I would come home from parties and trying to decide what to do - I think it reminds all us greeks that we are in this together!

[AXO_MOM_3]

Here's another one...

Sorority Soliloquy
I've heard it said a sorority is a waste of time; but I know better...
For I have seen the love and walked in the splendor of sisterhood...
Blinked at the brilliance and beheld the rose and the diamond.

I've heard the cheerful songs of the frolicking pledges...
Heard the low laughter of puzzled actives and the everlasting chuckle of glee in the air.

I've heard it said that a sorority is a dull, selfish place; It can't be true...
I've seen the affection, watched it fill my heart, the very air...
And I have learned the Creed polished and spotless from end to end,
And I have watched the sororities' devotion drape each and every active and pledge to look like nature's freshly-granted love nourishing growth...

I've heard it said that a sorority is harmful, but they are wrong...
For I know my sisters...
Watched them strive to save a cause, spend of themselves...
and I've watched them hope, dream and aspire, side by side...

I've heard them say these things, but I would disagree...
Because for every shadow I have seen a hundred rays of light...
For every plaintive note I've heard a symphony of joy...
For every pennyweight of bad, I've found a ton of good...
Good in nature, in people, in my sorority...

I'm so thankful I belong.