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Open Poetry #49
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JerryPat2
Member Laureate
since 2011-02-06
Posts 16975
South Louisiana

0 posted 2015-03-05 10:33 AM


In the next block from where I live there is a Presbyterian Church. They have a fairly large graveyard. Sitting all alone in the far corner of it is a very small marker which gave the name Nancy Coleman, and the date in the seventeen hundreds. Somehow the way she was located, away from the beautiful mausoleums, I conjured up a few poems about her mystery.

Sun-dappled grave stone stands alone,
Grass does not grow around that stone.
Its kept apart from other graves.
One lone marker. Wait! Is that a moan?

Some say the fever took the lass,
And other's point to her disgrace,
And some make the sign when they pass,
The young girl's restless, resting place.

Secrets are kept about this one,
Spanish moss, mint juleps of old,
Family mystery, the girl was shunned,
Rumors persist and stories told.

Midnight hush-hush in the old south,
The girl's drunkard kin; will he tell?
Cotton plantations, hush yo mouf,
What had she done; this southern belle?

©June 14, 2009 / Jerry Pat Bolton


~*~ When they give you ruled paper write sideways. ~*~

© Copyright 2015 Jerry Pat Bolton - All Rights Reserved
EmmaRose
Senior Member
since 2011-03-02
Posts 1376
Midwest
1 posted 2015-03-05 10:39 AM


you surely bring the mystique, the mystery and beauty with this gem
JerryPat2
Member Laureate
since 2011-02-06
Posts 16975
South Louisiana
2 posted 2015-03-05 10:41 AM


Thank you Emma. That lone marker just intrigued me.

~*~ When they give you ruled paper write sideways. ~*~

Pilgrimage
Member Elite
since 2001-12-04
Posts 3945
Texas, USA
3 posted 2015-03-05 08:12 PM


Kinda spooky. I like it. But yes, I can see wondering why she's off by herself. What are the dates of the other graves?  Are they contemporary?

Nan (Pilgrim variety)

JamesMichael
Member Empyrean
since 1999-11-16
Posts 33336
Kapolei, Hawaii, USA
4 posted 2015-03-06 07:37 PM


nice writing...james
JerryPat2
Member Laureate
since 2011-02-06
Posts 16975
South Louisiana
5 posted 2015-03-06 07:38 PM


Thanks James.

~*~ When they give you ruled paper write sideways. ~*~

Redstart
Senior Member
since 2014-05-16
Posts 535

6 posted 2015-03-07 03:56 AM


Nice to share the birth of your poem; delivered with a poet's pen and mind.
JerryPat2
Member Laureate
since 2011-02-06
Posts 16975
South Louisiana
7 posted 2015-03-07 11:52 AM


Thank you Redstart.

~*~ When they give you ruled paper write sideways. ~*~

jjote
Senior Member
since 2002-12-25
Posts 1088
Ontario, Canada
8 posted 2015-03-07 01:33 PM


I like how you can conjure a poem just seeing this grave, build a mystery around her. Why really is she apart, no grass growing around her marker, and moaning? Quite an active imagination..like it though
JerryPat2
Member Laureate
since 2011-02-06
Posts 16975
South Louisiana
9 posted 2015-03-07 01:36 PM


Yeah, I guess I got carried away with the isolation of the graves' marker, jjote. I wrote more on the subject and I'll be posting them also I imagine. Thank you for being here.

~*~ When they give you ruled paper write sideways. ~*~

Lori Grosser Rhoden
Member Patricius
since 2009-10-10
Posts 10202
Fair to middlin' of nowhere
10 posted 2015-03-07 02:50 PM


Really does get the wheels to turning. What had she done indeed...back in those days it was most likely done to her. ~L
JerryPat2
Member Laureate
since 2011-02-06
Posts 16975
South Louisiana
11 posted 2015-03-07 02:52 PM


Probably, Lori, but there have been mean women forever. Anyway, thanks for checking it out.

~*~ When they give you ruled paper write sideways. ~*~

Michael
Moderator
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-08-13
Posts 7666
California
12 posted 2015-03-07 04:32 PM


Wow, I could almost see this in my mind.  Wouldn't mind sitting all night next to that headstone hoping to somehow summon her spirit and maybe get the answers to all the questions firsthand.  Shamed and isolated in life doesn't seem nearly as harsh to me as in death.  Maybe it's because death has always, at least in my mind, been the one thing I might actually share with the rest of you all.

Michael

JerryPat2
Member Laureate
since 2011-02-06
Posts 16975
South Louisiana
13 posted 2015-03-07 04:57 PM


You have a valid point, Michael, in that being shunned in death is worse than in real life. That is, of course, taking into consideration that you would actually know you were being shunned. I somehow, think you would. Thank you for your concise and valid thoughts on my poem.

~*~ When they give you ruled paper write sideways. ~*~

jwesley
Member Rara Avis
since 2000-04-30
Posts 7563
Spring, Texas
14 posted 2015-03-07 05:28 PM


Ha! Having been raised in the New Orleans metro-plex, have to ask the question - is she separated, maybe, because of race (a burial that old)?  I can see her as maybe being black, a favorite of a plantation owner and him having squeezed her into a cemetery not meant for her, by placing her off, away, separated, yet satisfying to his "heart".

A question that will remain with no answer, I reckon.  

good piece, my friend.\


j.

JerryPat2
Member Laureate
since 2011-02-06
Posts 16975
South Louisiana
15 posted 2015-03-07 06:08 PM


Never entertained the race idea about this question, Jimmy. Certainly could have been that though. Appreciate your input on the question of why her grave is fairly isolated.

~*~ When they give you ruled paper write sideways. ~*~

Lori Grosser Rhoden
Member Patricius
since 2009-10-10
Posts 10202
Fair to middlin' of nowhere
16 posted 2015-03-07 07:02 PM


Jerry, I just gotta know more!
Was it a modern marker or original?
How old was she?
Boy howdy, wheels turning indeed! Everyone loves a good mystery, Thanks for sharing yours.

JerryPat2
Member Laureate
since 2011-02-06
Posts 16975
South Louisiana
17 posted 2015-03-07 07:08 PM


It looked to me to be the original marker. I will pass by there tomorrow and check everything out. Age, and all that. Yep, I have never forgotten it and I saw it quite a few years ago, not all that long after I moved to Thibodaux. I'll get back with you tomorrow.

~*~ When they give you ruled paper write sideways. ~*~

jjote
Senior Member
since 2002-12-25
Posts 1088
Ontario, Canada
18 posted 2015-03-07 09:12 PM


Hah.. the plot thickens, the mystery keeps on growing...we want more..
JerryPat2
Member Laureate
since 2011-02-06
Posts 16975
South Louisiana
19 posted 2015-03-07 11:36 PM


Hello , you have that right, the plot doth thicken. Thank you for being here.

~*~ When they give you ruled paper write sideways. ~*~

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