Com' on Blue!

Com’ on Blue!

For Coach Homer

What words? Loyalty, Integrity, Passion, Enthusiasm?

Yes, yes, yes, and O hell yes! Com’ on Blue!
Twenty-five years, can we count the impact?
How many players? Mel, Cody, Ope, Nard,
Weems, Plug, Moon, Licorish, McConnell. . .
No, there are way too many to count,
I can’t even do my six years! Com’ on Blue!
How many games, because in each your impact
Reached to the opponent, too? I know,  because
For eight seasons, nine games, I’ve been one,
And I’m sure Lawrence would say the same,
In wins and losses there you were exuding,
Embodying, bleeding. . . class. Com’ on Blue!
You’re a teacher, bringing the past to life,
A lifelong learner, you still get jazzed up about it,
I can hear you saying “These are the roots of our
Religious Freedom in America.” Com’ on Blue!
How many kids on Faye dorm have known your love?
How many advisees? They’ve all seen the team
At work—You and Jen—inseparable, dedicated,
United in effort and in purpose. Win is testament
Enough, and every one can see it because it is
Obvious and self-evident, a truth we can hold,
Written in a Brass Iron Gate. Com’ on Blue!
You are all those things, wearing all those hats,
Coach, leader of men, shaper of men, teacher,
Mentor, friend, father, husband, and what we
Both know is the highest distinction of them all:
School Man, and you are the School Man Supreme.
I’m not sue which, whether your blood is blue
Or orange, but like the sky shows on a Rappahannock
Sunset—that beautiful combination of both,
Natural, striking, leaving its indelible stamp,
Yours must be a little of both. Com’ on Blue!
But none of that even comes close to what you
Have meant and mean to me. You gave me a career
In the chance and confidence you gave to me.
You taught me how to coach, how to teach, how
To be a School Man. You taught me how to make
Chili, and that it takes all day, and is about more than
Meat and Beans, but requires a little Springsteen
And Clint Eastwood behind each stir. Com’ on Blue!
You showed me how deep our impact should be.
You modeled hard work, and how and when to let
The boys take over and do the work themselves,
How the work is best when it is shared in balance.
When disaster struck, and it did, we worked through
It together, standing on that field in the glow
Of the trees, whose leaves seemed on fire, but did
Not burn, we knew somehow together that we
Were not abandoned. We had eachother, a strong
Community, and time, ever moving onward.
There has been no other whose impact on me
Has been greater. I love you, brother. Com’ on Blue!
Here is to the years ahead as well because your
Work’s infinite impact must be timeless. Com’ on Blue!