By Faith, Bound for Excellence”

About this poem

Albertus Magnus High School, in Bardonia, New York, named after Saint Albert of Cologne (circa 1200-1280), a German thirteenth century Dominican friar and Saint, and a teacher of Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), Italian Dominican friar and priest, is a family-oriented parochial high school whose administration is based on prayer, study, community outreach, and service. This poem was composed as a Praise Poem to pay homage to the school’s mission of elevating students, their teachers, and its entire faculty to strive for excellent achievement with moral fortitude and dignity in all areas of service. The poem is written in the form of an acrostic to spell out the name of the school, “Albertus Magnus” and its guiding principle of “Building Faith, Bound for Excellence.” The literary format of the composition is that of an extended tanka poem, employing throughout the three-stanza, fifteen lines of the composition, a consistent 5-7-5-7-7 metric register. more »