'Ut Viri Boni Sint' - On Ice Poem by Mark J. Schulte

'Ut Viri Boni Sint' - 'That they be good men' is the motto of St. David's School in New York City. This is dedicated to their hockey teams.

'Ut viri boni sint', McLellan said to me;
Is the motto we embrace, for our men-to-be.
But missing from this Latin phrase is a thought sublime,
A sport that we - can clearly see - transcends both space and time.
Can libero alone expresss it? No! HOCKEY sets us free.

Hockey men are special men, they're really very bright.
Despite the violence on the ice, they'd rather think then fight.
When you strike the puck on ice, it's like a physics test:
Acceleration, force and motion - Mr. Hughes would know the rest.
Can veritas est lux express it? No! HOCKEY is our Light.

Skating, checking, scoring, heckling, here and there a row;
Hockey is the stuff of life, hockey players take a bow.
The Roman poets praised them, with verse so eloquent:
Dare I say, 'Ut defensores.....viri boni sint? ”
'That they be good defense-men', shall be our motto now.

(New York City, November 2007)