Antietam
Peter Taylor
War Poetry Contest 2010 (view all the winners)
Honorable Mention
clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners?
—Song of Solomon
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
animls: Squirrels, foxes, cows, etc.
bares: Wil's imaginary bear army
blucotes: Army of the Potomac
buttrnut boys: Army of Northern Virginia
cernal missis: Mrs. Louis T. Wigfall
cernal work: Colonel Philip A. Work
dady: Wil's father
divl: Devil
erl: Wil's friend
genrl hood: Brigadier-General John Bell Hood
her: Wil's sweetheart
jeezis: Jesus
jus a voise: Yankee Picket
lazruss: Lazarus
lutenant sanford: 1st Lieutenant Thomas Sanford
marse robert: Major-General Robert E. Lee
moma: Wil's mother
shanks: Brigadier-General Nathan "Shanks" Evans
travvlr: Traveller, Lee's horse
wil: Antietam's narrator
SCENE
SEPTEMBER 17, 1862: It is mid-morning. The Battle of Antietam has raged for over four hours in the forty-acre Miller Farm cornfield. The cornfield, which has changed hands six times since dawn, is now an open grave with 8,000 of the 23,000 dead, wounded, or missing soldiers who will fall this day.
***
rikershay
thay wil fin me i no thay wil fin me
fin her swete pitchir that she giv to me
forin it was ripdt frum my pokit
th goldn fraim flyin thru a bon
forin i lost it
in al thez hert parts a men hept in a cawrnfeld
her goldn hair an hazl eys lookin up at me
her gentl hans on my bresst
huggin me so good afor weez a marchin nawrth
wil wil yu writ to me
her teers falln on my cawrtreg case
forin that yanke bulit cut her pitchir
rite outen my pokit
an tuk out erls ey
his rite eybal
rite outen hiz fase
jus lik a stik inta frut
thwokk
hiz screemin an screemin an claawin
bluds everwher say
o god o god digit out boy digit out er shutin me now
*
wagns
dint mak no sens at al
makin ar brav genrl march behin hiz own men
afor we goes up that mauntin
cuz he gets hissef aressted fer insubordnashun
ovr them fedrel wagns we tuk at manasiss
cuz ol pusselbely shanks think heez god amighty
an wants them fer hissef an kin do sech a thing
an ther we be a hol divishin without a genrl
a marchin to hel up a mauntin cuza them wagns
til ol marse robert hissef com ridin long a rode
settin big on travvlr
an we don tel him say
we gots to hav ar genrl hood bak yesir
dont mak no sens him marchin to th reer wen th enemees up ahed
an he tel genrl hood say
i letchago yu poligize fer them wagns
an genrl hood say
caint do that nosir cuza pryd
but caint be marchin to th reer wen th enemees up ahed
so marse robert say
i letchago til this heer battls ovr
an we giv ar genrl a big cheer
dint mak no sens at al
*
rivvr
i writ to her bout goin acroxt that yanke rivvr
lik weez goin on a paraid
with flags wavin an a band playin
maarilan my maarilan
an i almos drownt forin i got acroxt
cuz we got men an horss an wagns an genrls an everthin
al a strecht out haffway down to richman
an they al gots to git acroxt afor nightfal
so when we coms up i tels ol erl say
i aint nevr seen no yanke rivvr afor
an he say
wy dont yu hav a rite good look
whil i holt yer raifl
an pluumdeetukit
dint i fal rite in
peepl laffin an pointin an erl pullin me up by my hair say
dont dy yet yer darn fool
marse robert wants it on th othr side
an giv me somma hiz own dry bulits
cuz my cawtredg case is useles
as my pryd
*
ey
erls a lookin down at me in a darknes
i kin se hiz ey
hiz blowd out rite ey
a swayin bak an forth bak an forth in a breez
lik a upsid down flowr
stuk to a cawrnstawk danglin by iss root
he bin wachin me now fo a wile
peesful lik
reminz me a som kinda clok
keepin me cumpnee i supoz
jus lik them animls com round i caint see
but i heers scrapinscrapinscrapin teeths on a bon
nachurl enuff i supoz that ey
skwerls dont want it
foxs caint reech it
erl aint askd fer it bak
so i gues heez jus gonna go on wachin me
fo a wile
*
gosts
this aint no reel battl i say to th rok
wher i no erls a sittin
them yankes aint a comin fer us i betcha
sssshhhhhhhh
say erls rok
jus a buncha cuntry boys hidin in th wuds
up on this heer yanke mauntin
purtendin theys a armee nstead a coupl loss bergades
hopin th enemee armee git foold
lik we got mor bares up heer on ar side than men
rok say sssshhhhhhhh agin
but i bet ol erls a smilin now
thinkin bout them bares
hez a lookin mor lik a bare hissef thez days
ceptin no bares got erls big ol flopy hat
or cud lode hiz raifl as fast
less them bares is a trainin
maybe thets wy this heer armees a comin so slow
boy
yu gotta mouth lik a munkee
godam yankes dont cum i shucha mysef
now shuchertrap an wacharode
dang bare
*
lettrs
al my lettrs that was in th sam pokit
shud go hom now
ceptn thems got to much blud
or washin in th rivvr
or dirtin frum th mauntin to reed lik
or caint be foun cuza that dang yanke bulit cut them up
so they caint be red no mor
i want i want her to hav them now
somthin frum me
somthin leff now iss al ovr
i want her to reed my lettrs to my moma an my brav dady up in hevin
whoz th bestiss moma an dady leff to th wurld
but betwixt th to of them
they nevr cud put to werds togethr
to reed to a caw
but my moma aalways use to say
wats it a dang caw got biznis reedin no nuzpapr no how
he dont care wats on th othr side a that fens
any mor than i do
leest in al she dint care so much
til i got me a ich to go to this heer war
*
reergard
loord amighty
i aint nevr seen so many blucotes or herd such a rakit
as that yanke armee
cum a marchin up that mauntin rode
wile weez hidin behin roks lik a buncha sqwerls
hopin we got enuff bares on ar side
cuz a bare dont care bout no yankes
he be outta bulits he stil got claws an teeth
an he be a passel hungre it bein septembr an al
an him a fixen hissef for a long slepe
but them yanke bulits jus com a flyin
an them canin bals com a tearin men inta clouds
lik blud lightnin
til al we gots leff
is th thundr a god
an a buncha busted roks an bludy raifls
jeezis forgiv me i kilt mor yankes than i had bulits fer
but they stil kept a comin so me an erl
we skidadled cuz we had to
weez th reergard
gainst th hol dang unyin armee
*
pikit
haaayyyyyy jonnyreb
haaayyyyyy jonnyreb
yu gonna shute me tnite jonnyreb
wacha doin up heer jonnyreb yu dont blong
i shute yer mossy teeth rite outen yer fase yu smil wen th moon com out
godam nvisibl blubely
but this boys got cuntry sens lik a possim
jus a voise comin frum a tree somwhers
haaayyyyyy jonnyreb
haaayyyyyy jonnyreb
was yu up on that mauntin jonnyreb
cuz if yu was yu a ded man we wippt yo ass
wacha havin fo brekfass tomorah jonnyreb
nuther plate a green cawrn an cofee i rekkin
sgonna be a big battl i heers
be a mite hungre after that mauntin
yu wan somma my brekfass jonnyreb
i got me beens jonnyreb i got me a slice of baken an lard
mak my bred go down gresy
yu wanna cum ovr heer an git som jonnyreb
dont go a slepin now jonnyreb
cuz i be a wachin
*
cullers
ther we be suns up
with a mornin mist stil a hangin in th trees lik teers a god
al th brav buttrnut boys leff to th wurld side me an erl
them wats stil able com up frum manasiss
them wats not ded com down frum th mauntin
even lazruss hissef neer drownt in th rivvr cuz heez tryin to cetch a fish
al lind up now neet as trees side this littel wite cherch
wachin ar bergade cullers flapin in a breez
to muv us to th battl
i remembr cernal missis giv us that culler war flag
makin parts rite outen her own purty weddin dres
an im a tellin mysef
if i be makin a culler war flag
i aint be usin no dres a mine
cuz wat happin if he gets kilt an i be a remarryn
an i got no dres
now sum peepl say
we looks a mite raggdy paird them yanke boys
cals us th raggd ol furst
somma our boys got no shooz
othr boys got raifls caint shut a bare in a bukit
dang cullers got mor hols in it than a mous cheez
but yu jus wach them fanse blucotes start a runnin
when we givs them
a rebbl yel
*
divldanz
wel th suns com up an were a dansin in th cawrn
jus a dansin on them ded an dyin men
im a yellin fer the danz an im a pissin in my pants
now th divls got us up to danz agin
cernal work is cuttin yankes til hez blinded by th smok
lutenant sanford wavs hiz hat abov th cawrn
but th blucotes aint afrade ther canin hols him thru th brade
an hez fussin with hiz buttins wher hez torn
we got choirs reechin hevin that maks tired soles unleven
an th light a god is burstin al around
frum twelv poundrs in th shade to th muskits in th glade
its jus cryin catts an fingrs on th ground
now im dansin with ol erl wen th music maks us twurl
an he turns to me an givs th evil ey
thers a hardnin in my hart that leevs us dansin in th dark
beneth a smok embittrd quiet petch a sky
wel th suns com up an were a dansin in th cawrn
an it aint bin but a mornin we bin heer
im a feelin in my bons were al a dansin heer alon
cuz im washin feets a jeezis with my teers
