Third Star with Guggenheim

American Poetry Review, The, Sep/Oct 2005 by Rector, Liam

My former father-in-law Frank

Was getting his third star as a General

And the rest of the family and I

Were there and a Colonel dressed up

In a special-occasion all-white uniform

Walked around with a hand-mic singing

Sinatra's "My Way" and when he finished

Singing the Colonel said "His Way" was how

Frank had done it all, all the way here up to this

Glorious night of Frank's third star,

And Frank I think liked the guy

And appreciated the singing but Frank

Romped right up to the rostrum and said

He hadn't done it his way at all

But had in fact done it

"The Air Force way." (Frank was

The kind of guy despised by

Ruggedly individual writers. Frank was

A "team player.") One could almost

see the balls of the Colonel

Shrivel, and I realized no one

In the room thought

The Colonel would ever

Get to be a General now.

That's the way it goes

There in the Air Force.

One gets "passed over"

At the time the General

Appointments are being passed

Out. We in the family

Were all seated at the same table

And suddenly a spotlight was thrown

On our table. We were all

Introduced and the announcer said

I was that year a "Guggenheim

Fellow," which I was that year, and 1

Remember thinking "No one

In this room has the first fucking idea

What a Guggenheim fellowship

Actually is," but it was the snob

In me thinking and I found I was wrong

When several people came over later

To congratulate me and I noticed

Some in this wild crowd

Actually did recognize

The brand names

Of the rich

In America.