I knew David Stewart long before he got so famous;
\nWe were grading undergrads at Yale.
\nWe weren\u2019t seeking writs of certiorari or mandamus;
\nWe just judged who got to Pass or Fail.<\/p>\n
Working for Brad Westerfield on U.S. for\u2019n affairs,
\nT.A.\u2019s for his basic freshmen course.
\nSpending our vacations grading bluebooks without cares;
\nDominating kids through use of force.<\/p>\n
Students would approach us in distress or even tears,
\nBegging us to give a higher grade.
\nBut, with just a stroke of pen, we\u2019d end their young careers;
\nStanding by to let their futures fade.<\/p>\n
We destroyed the dreams of these young freshmen with impunity,
\nSome who dearly longed for foreign service.
\nEven blessed legacies did not receive immunity.
\nNothing made us blush\u2013or even nervous.<\/p>\n
Little did we know then how this early role had scarred him\u2013
\nHaving to decide another\u2019s\u2019 fate.
\nDoing things for which such heinous conduct would have barred him
\nFrom his posts at Georgetown or at State.<\/p>\n
Stewart has been making up for all this ever since,
\nWriting on such crimes against humanity.
\nHoping that through grade inflation he just might convince
\nThat he had regained his moral sanity.<\/p>\n
Let us all agree now that Dave Stewart is forgiven;
\nHe has finally earned his dispensation.
\nThrough practice\/teaching\/scholarship his whole life has been driven
\nIn Service to the World and to the Nation.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n