»
Archives
»
Open Poetry #44
»
Hovering Haze (Gettysburg)
| Open Poetry #44 |
|
Hovering Haze (Gettysburg) |
|
Midnitesun
since 2001-05-18
Posts 28647Gaia 
|
Blue-gray, nearly uniform in color and attitude, a restless hovering haze covers the battlefield skies on this...and every other Memorial Day. Gettysburg, Memorial Day I find myself having heart palpitations, but not from the rigors of walking around the stone and rail fences that line the battlefield, nor from the heat and humidity that rule the day. These palpitations of the heart are steeped in empathy, of the psychological, historical realities of three long days in July of 1863. I see General Robert E Lee sitting proudly (though tasting defeat) atop a gray gelding named Traveler. I hear the echo of President Lincoln delivering the Gettysburg address at the National Cemetery November 1863. I observe the blue-gray haze that still hovers over the battlefield where valiant soldiers both Union and Confederate shed their blood for their cause. Today, the history stories come alive and are palpable. Names such as Pickett's Charge, the Wheatfield, the Peach Orchard, Plum Run, take on new meanings. Spectral spirits hover in the haze, and though I do not see any discernible uniformed shapes or figures running in that haze, I feel the presence of hundreds of departed souls, as if they are watching me, wondering what message and meaning I might glean from standing on sacred ground. Time will tell. |
||
| © Copyright 2009 Kathleen Kacy Stafford - All Rights Reserved | |||
|
Sunshine
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-25
Posts 63354Listening to every heart |
quote: Reflection on any ground is humbling, but when it is on the ground of lost souls it becomes even more so. Tender writing, Kacy. Thank you for sharing. |
||
|
Margherita Member Seraphic
since 2003-02-08
Posts 22236Eternity |
Dear Kacy, you really made me feel the atmosphere of this hystoric place with great intensity. A poem that makes one stop and think. Love, Margherita |
||
|
Martie
Moderator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-09-21
Posts 28049California |
Kacy...they know the heart within you and welcome your knowing spirit.  |
||
|
Midnitesun
since 2001-05-18
Posts 28647Gaia |
Kari, Margherita, Martie, Thank you for reading this offering. There are many images and thoughts racing through my head tonight it will be nearly impossible to sleep. |
||
|
ArtSolstice Member
since 2007-03-18
Posts 498 |
Wow! Well and poeticly described! |
||
|
secondhanddreampoet Member Ascendant
since 2006-11-07
Posts 6394a 'Universalist' ! |
fine 'write' about the most 'haunted' place in America (quite possibly the world?!): 51,112 (23,049 Union and 28,063 Confederate) casualties! from a 'P.I.P.-land' forum (and a 'Memorial Day') past: In Memoria (Gettysburg) inscrutable stones, ghostly bells toll forever in memoria! - b.e.a. MUCH applause for this timely and effective 'penning' !! |
||
|
Oklahoma Rose Senior Member
since 2008-02-28
Posts 1586Oklahoma USA |
Thank you, Kacy for sharing this history with me. |
||
|
OwlSA Member Rara Avis
since 2005-11-07
Posts 9347Durban, South Africa |
Kacy, you should have been (amongst a million other things - but then you can't be everything) a History teacher. If you had been my teacher (a bit difficult as we are the same age!) I would have hung on every word you uttered, got lost in the haze of every word-image you painted, thought thoughts I had never dreamed of before, learned things I hadn't known and been even more passionate about History than I already am - just as I did, reading this living, breathing poem. The Traveler touch was the cherry on the top. Few people can touch you for compassion, kindness and loyalty. I learned more about Gettysburg and the real feel of it from your poem, than any History book could teach from cover to cover. Owl |
||
|
Midnitesun
since 2001-05-18
Posts 28647Gaia |
Art Solstice, what a treat to have a reply from you! Bruce, numbers are mind-boggling and difficult to comprehend. Three days, so many lost. Sue, thank you for reading. Diana, history was never my best subject, perhaps it just wasn't taught with enough color and passion. Gettysburg is a powerful place to encounter the emotional, physical, historical impact of war. |
||
|
BluesSerenade Member Patricius
since 2001-10-23
Posts 10549By the Seaside |
A fine tribute, Kacy!! Your poetic history does indeed come alive. Excellent writing~ |
||
|
Robert E. Jordan Member Rara Avis
since 2008-01-25
Posts 8541Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
Yo Kacy, My great grandfather did the Civil War. He was most noted for riding his horse into the barrooms of Huntington, PA., and for exploading a pipefull of gun powder every fourth of July. He was also a beekeeper, like I used to be when I was on the farm. Love Bobby |
||
|
|
⇧ top of page ⇧ |
|
| All times are ET (US). All dates are in Year-Month-Day format. | ||
