STORM
Dearest M,
I have not been gone a week from your arms
and already I long to be back beside you.
Storms bellowed over Cumberland Mountain
last night, and tore through as if all artillery
of heaven had been brought into action. Darkness
was thick as Uncle Bill’s beard, and my men
bumped into each other, stumbling over old stumps
and scattered dead branches. Only the glitter
of lightning offered momentary relief. Somehow
we groped our way along until daylight.
Now my thoughts are of you.
I’ve heard rebels now roam near the homeplace,
close to Wildcat Valley and Wallings Ridge, robbing
and ransacking, taking every wagon and all food
they can find. Martha, I plead for you to keep
the door latched, listen when Hep barks a warning,
heed signs you hear and see so well. I cannot abide
thoughts of harm to my family; fold your arms
around them and think of mine around you. If rebels
should appear, give the signal, steer the children
down through the trapdoor, stay huddled under
the floorboards until clear.
WEIGHT OF INK
Dearest M,
Finally we have made it past Powell’s Valley,
where one loud dog, then all of them, barked
until it seemed every house had two or three,
and sounded like one spontaneous yell.
I thought for sure we were done for,
and the town would be awakened, but
we made it through without incident.
Now my haversack is heavy with letters.
One from Jonas Keen, Samuel’s oldest,
to Melvina Stephens, asking for her hand
in marriage, and a large package for
the widow Campbell from her two sons
in the 13th Regiment. Mostly it is greenback
money and penknives. I must be even more
careful now carrying such mail. I do not
take lightly the weight our names hold in ink.
My men seem more troubled and uneasy
these days, as this war wages on, and these
young ones have never been this far from kin.
I share their melancholy and their hope,
glad I can carry desire and comfort home
in a canvas bag. It seems even as my bag
is filled with sympathies overflowing, it is not
sufficient to describe my longing for you.
Glint Literary Journal 