I did it. It’s done. Save for a few minor edits and revisions, my second manuscript, The Journals of Lt. Kendal Everly: A Story of the American Civil War, is done and should be on book shelves later this year.
It was tough nut to crack, much darker than my first book, but it’s done and I’m happy.
Here’s the book’s first poem, the first entry in Kendal Everly’s journal. Everly is a teacher and a pacifist. He writes this not long before the Civil War begins.
English: Gen. Charles Griffin (1825 – 1867) (as Captain), career officer in the United States Army and a Union general in the American Civil War. He rose to command a corps in the Army of the Potomac and fought in many of the key campaigns in the Eastern Theater. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
This is the Place
April 1, 1861
Here, beneath these trees –
oak and ash – shadows lay
like blankets spread
for a community of picnics.
I feast on a moment’s song:
breezes, still laced
with March’s chill, weave
as ribbons about these limbs,
Giggling children dart
behind stalwart trunks
hiding from each other and me –
children teasing me, their teacher,
as I walked to school.
But this spring rumbles.
Men who drape themselves
in the dark robes of politics
brandish words as warriors
brandish swords –
and I am afraid.
Related articles
- A Civil War Apocalypse (thelintinmypocket.wordpress.com)
- A Poem from my Forthcoming Book (thelintinmypocket.wordpress.com)
- Confederate Ghosts (thelintinmypocket.wordpress.com)
Your imagery is perfect. The gaiety of the children and the feel of spring — both of which should infuse hope and cheerful expectation — suddenly become the background for a fear of something dark and deadly. I love the way you have juxtaposed these two completely incompatible elements.
Thank you, Sandra. Very kind words.
I agree. It’s that tension between themes – the dissonance of the imagery – that gives such intense strength, emotionally. Thank you for sharing, And I hope the book does well. It should!
Thank you, Matthew, for stopping by and the kind words. All the best.