I watched the owner
pocket a two-dollar tip
left for a waitress.
And I felt sorry
for the guy, knew he would die
hated by his kids.
— Herbert Engelhardt (1925-2021)
Herbert Engelhardt was born in New Jersey in 1925. He served in the Pacific Theater of World War II from 1943 to 1946 and was awarded the Purple Heart in the Battle of Okinawa in April 1945. He received his BA and MBA from Harvard in 1949 and 1951, respectively. In his late seventies, he began to write poems. He lived in New York City until his death in 2021.
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Author: The Best American Poetry