Since this is the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War, I tried to put some thoughts into words. I thought about Fort Sumter then and now. I know this one, the poem and the conflict actually, is not finished but sometimes it's good to try to put the words out there in the world to see how they feel.
April 12
Where once hearts beat
and blood flowed
hatred burned
defenders of chains
and those who would break the chains painted the sky with fire.
Iron and steel tortured the land and seared the soul.
And now,
that fire, iron and steel have become words on a page
stories on paper
paper, the most brittle and fragile holder of dreams
and we
are the inheritors of the dreams watching
waiting for the new birth of freedom.