Selected Verse Archives

LINCOLN

My thoughts stray from daily tasks.
The evening sun, dim red,
Shimmers on the walls,
Yet shadows deepen in the room
And in my wearied mind.
In the shadows, pale objects;
In my mind, lingering memories,
A pale dream....

I saw our son, our Willie,
Young companion of the dead,
Standing on the battlefield.

My eyes ached as tears flowed -
I have tears left? -
I called that he, a small boy,
Might come home
To his mother and father.
Had he business on such deadly ground?

He only shook his head
And gestured upwards,
Where, in the grey smoke
Of dwindling flame
I saw thousands of soldiers,
Their ranks so deep
The furthest passed from sight
Into the white stars.
And I saw wounded, fretting horses
With empty saddles.
They were stamping on the flames
Out of which rose the ghostly figures.
From the dark earth below
Sorrowful forms ascended
Like pleading hands
Who would carry the dead back to life.
Like my hands....

Then our boy pointed
To where I myself was standing.
I looked down
And though my boots stood firm
On a small, solid incline,
There sank beneath me
A huge chasm, so wide and deep,
The bottom was pitch blackness.

I felt myself utterly alone
And confess I was shaken
By a fear and despair
That seemed to rise
As evil mist
From the dark breach....

In the chilling emptiness
I longed for solace;
I sought a friend, a companion.
From afar I heard
The pitiful cries of my wife,
The mocking voices of colleagues,
The vengeful oaths of conspirators.
Then, a cold whisper touched my ear
As if from every Blue and Grey,
Every slave and master
United in the Beyond:
None can help now,
All rests on you!....

How am I to bear such weight?

At once I discerned a flickering, golden light
Surrounding the child.
In him was clarity.
By his light, I sensed he knew
The Word to heal the wounds
Of our divided nation,
And my own wounds of grief.
Yet with this comfort came
The first ray of dawn 
Through the window of my room.
I began to wake.
I urged the child reveal his Word
For the suffering multitudes
Who looked to me for release.
And just as I woke
I heard a voice ring out:
"Oh, my father Abraham, I am the son!"....