Malvern Hill
Charles Monette
It was the sixth and last of seven days
The battle for Malvern Hill, July 1st, 1862
McClellan and Lee locked horns in Herrico County
Virginia… up a piece from Poindexter’s farm
Disjointed assaults on the nearly impregnable Union position
Yanks up on Malvern Hill, the favorable ground
Slopes cleared of lumber, greater visibility downhill
Lee orders attacks directly… instead of flanking…
Artillery would clear the way…
Tragic miscalculation
Deadly fire rained thunder down on the Confederates,
Slaughtering them in their charge
5,300 rebel casualties without gaining an inch of ground
Blue bled too… 8,500 in all
Despite the victory, McClellan withdrew
To Harrison’s landing on the James River
Gunboats now protected his army
Malvern Hill lay soaked in blood, pockmarked
Bodies lying there still
[The image: Watercolor by Sneden]
Cicero's Hands
Mike Murray
A man of letters, a man of riches
He didn't have to burn those bridges
He lived and played with the men who held the sword
There was safety, but there was right
And in the stillness of the night
In the troubled times, his hands held only words
CICERO'S HANDS HANG IN THE FORUM
CICERO'S HANDS -- A GENERAL'S WARNING
ARE YOU PREPARED TO PAY THE PRICE FOR TAKING A STAND?
FEAR AND TREMBLING IN THOSE HOURS
TELLING THE TRUTH ABOUT A MAN OF POWER
WHEN YOU TURN THAT BRIDGE TO BURN, THINK OF CICERO'S HANDS
Asma's poem defied the danger
She warned, "Why mind this stranger?"
The stranger claimed to speak God's voice alone
Then the voice commanded slaughter
"Who will rid me of Marwan's daughter?"
When it's time to speak your mind, think of Asma's poem
There's big payback to check out
You're gonna end up sticking your neck out
When your life is on the line, you're all alone
When you call for folks to ponder
The crimes of those they honor
When you turn that bridge to burn think of Asma's poem
CHORUS
In their hearts, your words rings true
But they'll still come for you
When they hear the big man say you ought to be banned
All those battles to be won
Will they mean much when you're gone?
When you turn, that bridge to burn think of Cicero's hands
CHORUS
When it's your turn, your bridge to burn think of Cicero's hands
When it's time to speak your mind, think of Cicero's hands
When it's your turn, your bridge to burn, think of Cicero's hands
published with permission, copyright 2017 Mike Murray
overflowingly so
Charles Monette
thoughts dying in clouds
focus within reach
abruptly pushed over edge
thoughts wander, wonder over water
never landing
burning out
cosmic relatedness
all relates to all after all
random stirrings of memory
mind soaring, soaring beyond
imagination gliding
a splash of color scalds the earth
inspiration’s shaking foundations
stirring up rough dirt
far flung falling… an abysmal feeling
unreliable winds pelting exalted thoughts
blowing tree tops… life’s fluctuating fray
jump startled by thunder’s explosive cracks
vaulting over reckless danger
assiduously revised
I come to you… a spur to writing
Other voices
Charles Monette
March winds have quieted
Too soggy to blow
They sigh away to churn the sea
Listening for words of beauty
Some never heard before
Looking, hearing for a different way
Forsythia’s early yellow
Bell-shaped flowers, shrubs of an Olive family
Offer easy to appreciate full throttled blooms
Counting on spring to lift the gloom
Renew assurance with each green grass blade
It’s a young loving time of year
Moody moods’ last brood dissipates
To a chickadee’s call
Rivers swell muddy with snow’s last white
Something to remember me by
Winter’s baton passes grudgingly
Robins perch proudly, atomic tangerine
Did we expect any other?
Coming down with the rain
Wet showers circling… soaking a tree
Lichen brighten, stamp okay
Blue purple crocus open to day
This spring’s beauty ever slightly unlike
Ice floes slow
Charles Monette
Ice floes slow, a meditative pace
snow fringed, white edged circled upon the river
some big as all outdoors… shaped like continents adrift
melting atop… daystar’s penetrating rays also deeply felt
currently moving down river
till finally vanishing, becoming one with the waterway
smaller chunks, little snowbergs slip by… side by side
slandering in the sun
seemingly moving to end faster, to add to the deep
begun perhaps as ice shockles way up north
or frozen on a neighborhood bank
southwardly… slowly flowing southwardly, a push pull to the sea
look… an ice raft rafting, broke loose from the shore
reminders of Arctic collapsing firns,
neve no longer, never more to be
earth’s frozen waters flowing precipitously
I watch sipping coffee, an uneasy tranquil stare
pleased to see them moving, knowing Spring will soon be here
Venus Smiled
Charles Monette
3 straight years, Earth is getting hotter
3 records set in a row
NOAA cooking the books
NO Antartic, Artic melting away
Chinese plot… I think not… do they want waterproof?
feel the swelter, helter skelter… Phalodi… Africa 123.8 degrees
drought, starvation,… no water to grow to drink
emissions of heat trapping gases, greenhouse gases
carbon monoxide
planetary warning planetary warming
threat to the natural world
El Nino swoops in… hot energy, water vapors release
2016 the hottest year 3 straight records in a row
trouncing past records, rising temperatures warm the globe
our constantly changing planet
Artic oceans 20-30 degrees above normal last Fall
seas ice sunset
startlingly rapid coastal erosion
some connectivity… an accelerated era
hot data records 3rd straight in a row
do you feel it?
water
cold water, hot water, no water, high waters, waterboarding
water color, waterfowl, waterway, waterworks, waterlogged
water pollution, waterproof, waterfront, waterfall
watertight, water under the bridge, water cannon
water wiping out the bridge Waterloo, water,
water everywhere, nary a drop to drink
war-uh, watery, water
water
