Poem by Alan Tien, November 2017, inspired by a random conversation in a bar with the couple who sat next to us while we watched a Stanford football game on TV. Having heard that I went to Stanford, the lady mentioned her uncle went to Stanford and then the Navy. Before I could say anything, she said he was dead, but she followed up immediately with the fact that her uncle’s Stanford college mates who came up for the funeral were really “upright men.”
His time came too early
A man sheathed in Glory.
His time in the Navy
Spoke of his bravery,
But his time at Stanford
Taught him the word
Was stronger than the sword.
Only a sketch of a man
Overheard at dinner
Bloomed into a painting
In the mind of the listener.
It was another reminder
Cutting through the chatter
Of everyday life
To live honorably
For the daily eulogy
Of friends and family.