As Arms Academy alumni celebrate a reunion this weekend, I’m reminded of a poem that I wrote for the Class of 1945 who will be celebrating their 77th reunion on Saturday, June 25.
Tempted by the Trail
To Arms Academy Class of ‘45
By bus they were hauled from the hills
They came from the valleys and village
The hallowed halls they did fill
Anticipating kernels of knowledge.
While some were tempted by the trail
Others were tethered to the tower.
Great dreams would falter and fail
Great plans would perish to power.
Marriage and family a few would face
While others dared to dream and drift
Some ran the fame and fortune race
While winds of war did winnow and sift.
Some would sail out on the sea
And some would muck in the mud
The air would attract two or three
For the rest the draft was a dud.
So now we yearn for yesteryear
Rock in chosen chair, if you please
To forget long ago faults and fears
And rely on marbled memories.
Ted Cromack
Shelburne