Today marks the end of my journey with Develop Carolina. It was definitely a fellowship that was rewarding and life changing. On this last day, I would like to dedicate this poem to them:

Not Farewell, So Long

All wide eyed, tempest tossed
Eager vessel upon the beaten rocks
Unfinished clay in a master's hands
Waiting to be molded with his exacting touch
Or the canvas upon which the artist laid his brush
We began

Through the darkest nights we braved
Wandering through the steepest enclaves
Our feet mired deeply in the everglades
Valleys crossed and mountains climbed
Now we stand where the sun doth shine
We have come

Mission accomplished, finally felt
A journey that began with just one step
That shaped and molded us into our greater selves
Battered and bruised, yet in one piece
Our souls emblazoned with a new inner peace
Old tests and trials have already ceased
We've overcome

Strangers once, friendships anew
Glistening still like morning dew
A group resolved to see things through
This new moment is not where the story ends
Where strangers met and left as friends
But where new bonds are made forever strong
Where single verses meshed into melodic songs

Let us not in all our will
Forget the ones who brought us here
Who walked alongside us on this journey still
Who helped ease all of our fears
Who taught us that struggles exist to make us strong
And though our paths may diverge today
And we go about life in different ways
Six months later, I can kindly say,
I bid you not farewell, but just so long.