Illinois Verse/The Gregory Boulder
The Gregory Boulder
Half hidden by the bushes, A massive boulder liesNear the John Street entrance to the campus.Hurrying crowds, unseeing, pass by it every day. Thousands enter college And at the end of four years leave,Not knowing that the huge granite stone Marks the last resting place Of the University's first able leader Revered by the old graduates.
"If you seek his monumentLook about you"—the epitaph.Could John Milton Gregory himself but stand here and look about him What amazement would fill his soul!Only old Uni Hall remains intact.Far, far beyond the reach of human sightStretches a great sea of new buildings and grounds, Stupendous! Inspiring!