Ten thousand white-gloved dogwood butlers usher
us
through the South. Their black skins itch in
livery,
their bent waists ache with slavery,
till June—not Lincoln—sets them free. But one
has tossed
his gloves down, see? Visions of Montgomery.
History and wisteria. Star-crossed
flag of the Confederacy. Every-
where bronze members of the cavalry
guard their public square. Did Appomatox
happen yet? And who surrendered—Grant or Lee?
(First appeared in Verse.
Copyright © 1990 by Jennifer
Rose.
All rights reserved.)
|