No one remembers anyone
Who remembers anyone
Who remembers
Why she died
But there she is
Wealthy woman young
Good teeth,
No slave.
Those killers
Didn’t kill the slaves
Took them away squat beneath
The loot the weight of
What they carried off
As they did before for her,
Before emancipation
To slave for someone else.
Arroyo cut through ruin
Showed her to the wind and sky
And me a thousand years
After noise and smoke
And screams
Stone hatchet broke the head
Flames brought down the roof
Around her,
Her and her kin
Charred corn
Still on cob
Beside her skull.
She died and partly burned
A long forgotten civil war
Between someone
And someone else
No one remembers
Over something
Neither wind nor sun
Nor these charred bones
Remember.
Old Jules
Copyright©NineLives Press
Cool picture! I like Texas.
Thanks for coming by, James. I’m fond of the Llano uplift and Enchanted Rock area. The Big Bend country and the Davis Mountains. Less crazy about the limestone country and the black dirt parts. Glad you liked the pic, which isn’t Texas. Gracias, Jules
I heard Big Bend country is really great and doesn’t have too many tourists. Thanks!
I have a feeling you might like my short stories. They take place in the South and the West.
http://azurejames.wordpress.com/short-stories-and-long-stories/
Thanks James. I’ll have a gander at it first opportunity. Jules
Painful, artful reminder that whatever the reasons for violence against one another, with the passage of time, we forget whatever the reasons but don’t seem to learn that whatever the reasons were or are, they were not and are not excuses…
Lindy Lee: It’s the inclusive ‘we’ trap, thinks I. I personally haven’t forgotten they aren’t excuses, but it seems certain some folks I don’t include myself in any ‘we’ with have forgotten, or have ignored it. Gracias, Jules
this place is scared to me . even with it onslaught of the sight see-ing
This place is sacred to me …. even with it onslaught of the sight see-ing
Hi Heather: I suppose any graveyard’s sacred in some sense for those who consider human remains sacred. Thanks for stopping by. Gracias, Jules