We sought to liberate the slave
from the cruelness
of sun, field and lash
but did not consider
the eternal enmity
of former owners in defeat.
We could have swept
the Old Dominion state
clean into the ocean.
Cleared it
of plantation owners
and the white working class.
The radical Republicans
desired something
akin to that response.
Mr. Lincoln desired
a new testament ending
rather than an old one.
So we honored
the terms Grant delivered
and filled no more coffins.
But it was we
who suffered future retribution
for simply breathing free air.
copyright © 2023 Kenneth P. Gurney
Umflop 