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| Burnside Bridge |
A Picnic
We dip our toes
where rivers ran red
and souls took flight,
tread fields
where cannons shook stalks
and mighty men fell.
Picnic upon plaid,
gaze upon cotton shaped clouds,
re-tell strife of yesteryear.
Do we hear
the moral of the story,
can we feel a ray of light?
Margaret Bednar, April 18, 2014
I visited the Antietam Civil War Battlefield - (a battle fought on farmland of corn and wheat) a couple of years ago and it still lingers - the quiet can be sliced with a knife - perhaps because it has been so well preserved - I felt like the past was going to rise up and replay itself before my eyes…
What is cool, is my photograph is about the vantage point of the battlefield artist, Edwin Forbes, below!
This is linked to "Imaginary Garden of Real Toads - Imagined by Marian" - loosely based upon the music video presented by Marian - or at least the train of thought it triggered.
Battle of Antietam - a (long) overview.
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| Edwin Forbes - battelfield artist |
For the month of April, I am participating in NaPoWriMo2014 or National Poetry Writing Month. The website is HERE.
In celebration of this year's challenge, I will be giving away a free book of my poetry. If you are interested in participating in this drawing, please click the red logo at the top of my side bar and leave your name and a means to reach (blog, email, etc) you in the comment section.
PLEASE INDICATE YOU WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN THE DRAWING OR I WILL ASSUME YOU ARE JUST COMMENTING. THANKS.
15 comments:
The past can be so palpable at times . . . so much bloodshed can't help but leave much behind.
paltry? no way. hearing the moral of the story is the entire point. i love this reflection, Margaret.
Haunting poem Margaret.
Do we hear the moral of the story?
Such an important question to ask. It is not our fault that we must raise our children on the battlefields of the past, but we should always learn from it.
The silence can be deafening & my active imagination will soar with what had happened in that bridge~ I like the pictures too, full of history ~
makes me think of the poppies that cover the fields of France
We can't sit where there was such death and not be moved...May we never repeat it. Wonderful piece!
Margaret-your poem and words captures the view of our history's moral compass. Yes, we must keep "working on that". Haunting how so many lives have been lost-a great write!
Oh, Margaret — the photo, the painting, the poem...all so haunting, telling us not to repeat past mistakes.
K
How can we not in such a place? Beautiful, Margaret.
Cool coincidence in the images there, Margaret...your poem brings this place to life.
I remember your prompt a couple of years ago on the theme of old battlefields......it is amazing to see the photo and the artistic rendering of the same place, so many years apart. Wow. You walked in the footsteps of history.
sighs of those souls could be felt in this piece Margaret...and
love the photo and the painting seen through the eyes of artists
so many years apart...
Beautiful. K
well done, Margaret ~
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