Gettysburg

[incantation]

A sleeping God

Fired angels from a gun,

With which side

Did they run as they

Fed their God

Dreams.

Hungry soldiers were

Led to cherry trees.

19th Virginia infantry

Regiment marched

To Gettysburg colonel

Gantt's eyes were photographed by eternity,

He conversed with history

And America.

Angels carried the nectar

Of war, infantrymen explored

Tactics and flaws in

Enemy plans.

Did the sound of cannon

Wake a God taking the

Earth out of his pocket

As General Henry Hunt

Brought out his watch.

Numbers vanished

And reappeared, men

Fell, President Jefferson

Davis orchestrator

Of a nation's wishing

Wells. Numbers drowned

At Culp's hill. Fire revealed

It's eyes to certain men reflections 

hinted about them being the winds

of history shaping flames and eyes

would eventually fall across names.

 

[Tinker]

Wow Barry, A piece of American history.  Did you know when driving through parts of Gettysburg, you can actually still see bullet holes in the walls of some of the buildings that are still occupied.  The battlefield itself still spreads out on the outskirts of the city and you can almost envision soldiers mangled and dying on it.  When my small grandson was looking at statues in the Gettysburg Museum dressed in blue and grey uniforms he asked me which team we were on.  I had to say both.  We had family on both sides.  How sad brothers killing brothers.  A nation and its families torn apart.  War is never pretty, no matter how noble the cause. 

~~Judi 

[Terry A]

First, the poem humanizes by proving a depth not available to merely the facts. And achieves multi dimensionally, quite remarkably.

If you saw the movie ‘Contact’, Jodi Foster said when she first attained hyper dimensional travel, “They should have sent a poet”. This poem about a a historic event, has a poet telling it. Wouldn’t change a word. Many thanks for the view.

[David W. Parsley]

Hi Barry, the poem presents the stamp of originality that characterizes your work.  Many startling images and juxtapositions.  Equally unusual is your choice of people to single out from this complex and vast canopy.  I'll have to stroke my chin on your choices and apparent sympathies.

I am still not on board with so much word repetition but have decided it appears to be a conscious choice.  But 'numbers' repeating here lends startling irony and pain: effective.  

Thanks,
- David