While searching through old file folders, I stumbled upon this old poem I wrote for my Applied Behavioral Sciences cohort in the undergraduate program. It was intended to incorporate a wide variety of concepts learned in the program in the various behavioral sciences, including psychology, sociology, education, management, research, and so on, and I presented it to them at the closing of the program as a sort of send off before graduation. It is intentionally written to mimic and style and meter of Longfellow’s A Psalm of Life.

Ode to a Cohort
By Bilal Ali

The human urge to congregate,
Is perhaps its greatest need;
Yet countless tales of failing groups
Warn us to take great heed.

Not every conflict between man,
Interlinked as they may be,
Should cause the sagacious sailor,
To jump for empty sea.

React, then, with resilience,
If stress should be thy fate;
Alarm, resistance, exhaustion,
Doth not help thee communicate.

Listen to thy surroundings,
Should thy wish conflict to wane;
For passive, one-way dialogue,
Shall fruitless always remain.

Think not thyself thick-headed,
Though gray your hair may wave;
Wise men are always learning,
From the cradle to the grave.

Great people are not graded,
By color, race, or tongue;
But by virtue of integrity,
Were their praises ever sung.

If history be our teacher,
Steadfast over ages,
Its taught us not each learner,
Learns solely from filled pages.

In the pursuit of knowledge,
Guard thy every move,
For even with strong sources,
Research leaves much to prove.

Lives of great leaders remind us,
To reflect upon our past;
Then attend to the present, proudly
Nailing colors to the mast.

Let us be drawn to action, then
Each with our unique voice;
Guided by divine command,
Yet armed with human choice.

Life is more than theory! –
And tough as it may seem,
The best science is behavior,
That applies what great minds dream.

Ask not for firm evidence,
That these words I share be true,
The greatest lessons learned thus far,
Are those I’ve learned from you.