Read Poems by Jimmy Coker

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Poem

Charley

Charley

In Carolina a young man’s journey began.
Today in Mississippi was it’s end.
Dressed in the best he had, 
they returned an old man to the ground;
in the shade of a white oak,
Ginseng berries all around.

His was a tale of pain and woe.
His brother lost at Perryville, the greatest blow.
In ’65 alone  forty miles to LaGrange,
his loyalty to the Union to arrange.

Years rolled on, wives to wed,
wives to die ,
Seventeen children came and went.
The last, my grandpa, an unexpected event.

At the end, his mind gone, to the woods he would take,
Seeking confederates long dead.
While his withering body gives way to the deepest ache.
His wish for the sweet rest that lay ahead.
His lonely trek soon to be over,
His mind, his soul, seeking closure.

Now generations have heard the story 
Of a long dead wight, who still in the
darkness of the night,
calls out brother, my brother,
 to see you again gladly I cross over.