1930s

39 A Design for Leaving
The conclusion to the 1939 Class Poem, written by Robert B. Heywood, is presented here (its beginning was re-printed in the last issue of this magazine). When originally published 85 years ago, in the October 1939 Alumnus magazine, the editors then commented on the vivid cross-section of campus life described, followed by “one of the finest opinions on the place of a young graduate that has come to our attention in any form…” Apologies for the formatting changes necessary to meet editorial/publishing requirements. Continued from the last issue: //And so we go, they say. Into ‘the world’: Into the world of all-night lights And endless weekend pers. From classes in classics to class reunions. From academic processions to practical digressions. Or from practicing to practice, we go Into a wheel-bound. Word-lost world. Wheel-bound world—Which has measured the Infinite And left man alone in the world of men; Alone in a boundless universe Winding and working toward the void. Word-lost world— Leaving man alone with only his faith In the morning newspaper And the latest device for the counting of time-cards. Bound by the boundless, free for destruction; An individual, alone, with his sacred enterprise, Set free for himself and the mechanical practice Of business for business. Pleasure for pleasure. And life for life. Free, for conventional thinking And action based on a holy trust In the counting of heads. Free, for enslavement to race Or defied nation. Free: To turn the Word to sword. To count time, be bound by time. To measure and weigh and smash the atom. To watch the stocks and the weather reports. Free: For ordered confusion. For sorrow without joy. For war, or the paper-peace of the business arrangement. Free: For words but lost to the Word, For time without the timeless. And order without wisdom. And we bring into this world: The fresh, old hope and the ageless solution; Truth as the soul of freedom. Rich, deep wisdom as the source of order And eternity as the measure for time. We come. Christ-bearers: To lighten the shadows, To strengthen the suffering. To free men from the world. And they will try to darken and smother The Light that we bear; But our Light can penetrate The deepest-down darkness and Reach past the measure of matter. We come with hope not ours, Not wishing for easy release, easy peace; Strength not ours Can brave the wheel. Break the wheel, Free the ‘free.’ We come to the world Bearing the Light of the Word. — Robert B. Heywood. // We are indeed bound by time, and it is sobering the Class of 1939 now leads the Class Notes section. It has been a true pleasure to represent these men and their families through this column, and I’ve tried to record bits of Class history interesting to any reader appreciative of the common thread we share in Notre Dame. Signing off and Go Irish! Bring your Light to the World. — Seth O’Donnell ’04; 17 Marion St., East Greenwich RI 02818, 603-828-7335; seth.odonnell@gmail.com