And so, we are not to be concerned about living – but about living well.
- Socrates, Dialogue with Crito

I watch them settle in. David’s Death of Socrates
on the projection screen. Clashes of colors
like warring teams: a white toga hanging
from a teacher’s shoulder; the blood-red robe
of a servant, who holds out the deadly drink.

       An ancient story, someone else’s fight.

And yet, the old man who sits upright
to take the servant’s chalice. The absence
of malice. Gestures like haunting glyphs.

       We open ourselves to what ifs.

What if someone you love, someone
who taught you right from wrong; drew
you a map of valleys not yet drawn; rowed
with you on a winding river: the labyrinth
of your young years.

       A chance to visualize: a wrestling coach;
       a theater teacher tirelessly recapturing
       missed lines.

What if this person you love comes under fire.
A mob seeds hatred, until – like trees that burn
too easily – they are cheering for his demise.

       Why.

Because he is winning in an art his accusers used to
prize: logic as leak-proof as a Grecian vase. Because
he is gaining fans.

       Because they can.

Suppose, like an extended hand, the mob gives
your mentor a choice: Disavow all you ever taught.
Apologize – or hemlock.

       They grasp for the extended hand.

Why not sign a pity release? Spare your children
and wife. Surrender – just for the moment –
what defines your life. The boat for escaping
is waiting in the bay. The judges want their take.
What will history say if friends do not
save a man accused in the wrong? Who will
teach virtue if the teacher of virtue is gone?

       Scales that tip and sway.

It must have weighed on Crito’s heart
to learn the decision was already made;
to arrive in a drafty cell for a teacher-
student review – so late.

How he misread the old man sitting
on his cot: alone and unafraid.
The question on his teacher’s face:
How much are you willing to trade?

       We weave, instructed, heart persuaded.
       We leave it – not for the Midterm –
       almost certainly for a later day.