Poetry | Veritas et Virtus

Veritas et Virtus. ¹

We can have a conversation on the difference, if you’d like:

come equipped with any questions, ²

modes of inquiry into society and self. ³

An open exchange of ideas ⁴

accommodates the flow, ⁵

covers the nature of matter. ⁵

But how accurate are our understandings of what constitutes ⁶

characteristics of life? ⁵

Scrutinize the various ways. ⁷

Why do others attempt to remove the seams of our experience ⁸

when your success

ultimately

depends on you? ⁸

Finally, you will have access, ⁷

closely, into someone else’s consciousness. ⁴

New ideas emerge, and old ideas are discarded. ¹⁰

To better understand our society and ourselves by looking at a specific part of our roots,⁹

consider some of the most important lines of thought in history. ¹⁰

Most importantly, you are free to have fun. ²

¹ “Truth and Virtue.” Motto of The University of Pittsburgh. Est. 1787.

² Introduction to Fiction. Joshua Graber. Spring 2018.

³ Introduction to Poetry Writing. Ellen Smith. Spring 2018.

⁴ Foundations of Biology Lab I. Rebecca Raphael. Spring 2018.

⁵ Foundations of Biology II. Sherrianne Gleason. Spring 2018.

⁶ Introduction to Film Genre. Kevin Flanagan. Spring 2017.

⁷ Introduction to Film. Kevin Flanagan. Fall 2017.

⁸ Genetics. Lewis Jacobson. Fall 2018.

⁹ Viking Age Scandinavia. Bernard Hagerty. Fall 2016.

¹⁰ Magic, Medicine, and Science. Haixin Dang. Fall 2017

Senior Staff Columnist Delilah Bourque drew upon various syllabi from her coursework at Pitt to write this poem.