Tom Zart = United States Military Academy At West Point, N.Y. Poem by Tom Zart

Tom Zart = United States Military Academy At West Point, N.Y.



United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.
Poet Investigated For Sending Package
Topeka Capital-Journal March 5,2,000
By SCOTT R. GREENBERG

The Capital-Journal

LENEXA - Maybe someone took that passage about 'the rocket's red glare' a bit too seriously.
But all Tom Zart really wanted to do was send poetry to the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., to inspire the c
cadets. He very well may wind up inspiring them, but he had officials there scared for a bit.
The school received a 'suspicious-looking package' last month that had the words 'enclosed poems' written on it.
'It felt like something moving inside, a lump. It wasn't packed very well, ' said Maj. Jim Whaley, the academy's chief of public information.
At 2 p.m. on Feb.15, about 100 cadets, staff and faculty members were evacuated for nearly two hours from one wing of Washington Hall, a building that houses the cadet mess hall, classrooms and the office of the commandant of cadets.
Capt. Christopher Garrett, secretary general staff of the United States Corps of Cadets, 'was contacted by an unknown person who explained he was a poet, ' Whaley said. 'He was a very Southern- speaking man who said he would like to send some poetry to the commandant to inspire the cadets.'
Garrett was told he would receive an 8 1/2 inch by 11 inch envelope, but the package Garrett sent was much larger and weighed more than five pounds. The caller never identified himself, according to Whaley.
As Zart,55, tells it, the misunderstanding came about because of a simple slip of memory.
'I had permission from Captain Garrett to send in my book of poems and CD, ' Zart said. 'I sent it in a priority mail box, and when it got there Garrett forgot about giving me permission to send it. It just scared the hell out of them.'
The package contained his recital book of 154 poems, which weighed four pounds. Two CDs were included, as well as 10 copies of each of his 13 war poems with accompanying artwork.
Zart, who has been writing military-themed poetry for 30 years, remained calm when Lenexa detectives visited his home to investigate. He invited them inside and played voice messages he had received from the offices of Texas Gov. George W. Bush, former President George Bush and Sen. John McCain, all of who had received Zart's book of poetry, 'Remember When' and his compact disc, 'Memories.'
Persuaded that Zart wasn't an aspiring Unabomber, the detectives left.
Zart was born in Topeka and lived here until he was 7. He came back every weekend to stay with an aunt until he was about 14.
Zart, now a Lenexa resident, used to work on the Burlington Northern Railroad as a brakeman.
'Sometimes we'd be on duty 16 hours a day, so I wrote poems to keep from being bored, ' he said. 'You get to see the world like other people don't get to see it. You see the river, the moon is out, the farms, cattle, people.'
His work centers on military and patriotic themes 'because I went to join the military after my first divorce because I didn't care if I lived or died, ' said Zart, who was rejected by the military because one leg was 2 inches shorter than the other.
'Guys I worked with and went to high school with never came back. I wrote them out of guilt that they went and I didn't get to, ' he said.

Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Topic(s) of this poem: love and life
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