Hats Off!

I think I assumed
that the hats and boards
evaporated in mid air
or hovered like
ungainly ceremonial birds.

I did not know
that after the moment
when the hats are thrown
into the blue sky
in a gust of laughter
you are surrounded
by the rush of air
and the soft sound
of felt and velvet
hitting the ground.

This year, for the first time,
I stood among the academics
and the hats and boards
rained down joyfully upon us.