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| Photo: G.Brannan |
come to the battlefield at last...
as voices echo from the past,
from depths of this historic land.
Swept back through time my mind can see
the Union blue and Rebel gray;
and hear the gunfire from that day
as both sides fought for victory.
For three long days the battle wore --
brother 'gainst brother, friend pit to friend,
not knowing how their fight would end…
wounded and weary to their core.
Names like Chamberlain, Grant and Lee,
and many more we do not know,
met on these fields so long ago
and turned the tide of history.
To Gettysburg today I’m drawn
to stand on consecrated ground,
to honor those to which we’re bound;
their spilled blood issued this new dawn.
© Ginny Brannan 2010
Photos from author's personal collection. From a rocky outcrop on Little Round Top in the Gettysburg National Battlefields, the statue of Brigadier General Gouverneur Warren (5th NY Infantry) stands where the General himself was said to have stood during battle, July 2, 1863
Sharing at d'Verse Poets Pub Poetics--Sculpting a Poem 2/26/12
This is an earlier poem, written in 2010.
Photos from author's personal collection. From a rocky outcrop on Little Round Top in the Gettysburg National Battlefields, the statue of Brigadier General Gouverneur Warren (5th NY Infantry) stands where the General himself was said to have stood during battle, July 2, 1863
Sharing at d'Verse Poets Pub Poetics--Sculpting a Poem 2/26/12
This is an earlier poem, written in 2010.
their spilled blood issued a new dawn...there are battles that have to be fought...i like the flow in your verse - also the mentioning of the names makes it very palpable - but also mentioning those, whose names we do not know, who fought for their countries and are never mentioned..thanks for thinking of them..
ReplyDeleteClaudia, it is all the foot soldiers, the unknowns, that fight bravely to turn the course of history. During this 3 day battle approximately 48,000 men fell: 23,000 from the North (1/4 of the Union troops)fell at Gettysburg, and 25,000 from the South killed, wounded or captured (1/3 of Lee's army)
Deleteyou know i used to live 30 minutes from there...went there all the time...lots of statuary...lots of ghosts and memories to walk with you...and to know how many died on those battlefields....nice piece ginny
ReplyDeleteBrian, My in-laws live 1/2 hour north, we visit often, such an amazing place. My skin literally tingles when we are there. So much history, so many ghosts--the history just oozes from the ground, the rocks and trees, the very air you breath. We read the names in whispered voices, knowing our imaginations barely visualize, cannot come close, to what happened during the 3 day battle.
DeleteExcellent poem, shares a bit of history. I'd like to visit Gettysburg some year.
ReplyDeleteWell worth the visit. Quant town square, you can see the building where Lincoln wrote, then gave the Gettysburg address. The antique stores contain a plethora of amazing historic memorabilia. South of town are the battlefields, and many places ways to learn about the battle, the history there.
DeleteBeautiful...specially the last line of the new dawn ~
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this bit of history.
Thank you, Heaven!
DeleteBeautifully executed quatrain, Ginny. We visited North Carolina last year and I like to read fiction about places we travel to. The books I chose were set in the Civil War era and written from the perspective of the South. What a tragic time, a difficult era in our history. You've recounted it so well.
ReplyDeleteVery nice, I could will the beat and rhythm to the piece--although short, it had the same feel as an epic poem chanting a grand battle.
ReplyDeleteAn excellent tribute to those who died in the cause of freedom.
ReplyDeleteAnna :o]