(Cold Harbor, Virginia, May 31-June 12, 1864;
1,845 Union dead, 788 Confederate dead)
cathedrals rise,
tall arching boughs, crisscrossing limbs,
lush, leafy rooftops lofted high
and rustled by warm tender breeze;
green rooftops shimmer, reverent,
while casting shade to consecrate
this hallowed ground,
this battlefield,
topography forever scarred
by trench and earthworks dug in haste
scratched out for fear and valor's sake,
grave-deep furrows
once harbor to
depleted men far from their homes
who wept and moaned and fought, survived,
sad ditch and trench from which strong trunks
loft high the ceiling's verdant vault
while saplings bend in pensive prayer,
roots buried in brown detritus
discarded by last autumn's chill,
dark moldered leaves
now slowly melting into earth
where men once battled, suffered, died…
to ash from ash,
cathedrals rise
November 15, 2022
The Crap Shoot #2 Poetry Contest
John Lawless, sponsor
in the shop with hardware and bits of wood
can make almost any man feel useful, good
a screwdriver, a drill, some papered sand
away from day-to-day, simply out of demand
just tinkering around with piddling things
the easy satisfaction messin' 'round brings
no major renovation, or building earthworks
just little improvements, near anonymous perks
unsqueaking a hinge, maybe unstick a drawer
fittingly better is what tinkering's for
whether it's the thing of attention being repaired
or the man doing the labor, it's hard to declare
so too, it can be with words on page or a screen
to ensure understanding, say exactly what you mean
a glued letter, word oiled, or nailing a phrase
brings the writer satisfaction of all he surveys
so I continue to tinker a little bit more
on a few couplet lines, with no guarantor
that I'll illicit from you, oh diligent reader
understanding or joy, from this rambling meter
but that is a small sideline to most of my tinkers
it's time tinkering matters to meandering thinkers
© Goode Guy 2011-05-23
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