Sitting by My Long Ago Professor's Office Door

Eric v.d. Luft

I was young
He was middle-aged
Forty-five years gone
Now I'm old
Now he's dead
But the hallway is the same

I see musicians I used to know
Their arthritic hands
Can play no more
But their music is fresh

I feel ghosts of lovers
Their crazy hearts
Beat no more
But their love endures

I'm healthy now
But health decays
And only disease remains

Eric v.d. Luft


Eric v.d. Luft earned his B.A. magna cum laude in philosophy and religion at Bowdoin College in 1974, his Ph.D. in philosophy at Bryn Mawr College in 1985, and his M.L.S. at Syracuse University in 1993. From 1987 to 2006 he was Curator of Historical Collections at SUNY Upstate Medical University. He has taught at Villanova University, Syracuse University, Upstate, and the College of Saint Rose. He is the author, editor, or translator of over 670 publications in philosophy, religion, librarianship, history, history of medicine, politics, humor, popular culture, and nineteenth-century studies. He owns Gegensatz Press and is listed in Who's Who in America.

Sofie Harsha