1700
Hezekiah Crum suffered tyranny with a constancy of quiet rebellion.
Above all, he valued serenity
Prideful isolation was his companion.
His sons watched their Father's prosperity
Strengthen - in robust relation -
To the isolated husbandry
With which he tended his life's portion.
They knew not the acrid stench of smoke, and blood-cost,
That followed tides of iron cannon and the flintlock blunderbuss.
"We have no fight with any man, lest his trespass cross what's ours."
1800
The sons of Hezekiah grew in stature and in peace.
Their sons were born on free soil - purchased by a war they'd never seen.
"We free men tender no less than honest wage for honest work - we ask no less from others. "
The family, fertile with abundant life, grew with each new pasture.
They knew not the soul's starvation caused by human degradation.
Named themselves a state, they did, and built themselves a religion.
They shielded their children from cauldrons and shackles and armed em with suspicion.
1900
With a solemnity born of debt unpaid - impossible to pay -
Today, they cry out in speeches long...
"Thanks be to those who fought and died.
Their sacrifice is oft remembered.
With their lives, they purchased our right to be right...
2000
As well as our right to be wrong."
©Naomi Marshall 2018
YOU ARE READING
Chicken Teeth
PoetryIt's my pleasure to share this eclectic mix of poem, prose, and song. These are stories from the Tidewater: that gentle land that slopes into the sea and cradles the Great Dismal Swamp. I hope you enjoy the read'n of em as much as I have enjoyed...
