The Portent

Screen Shot 2014-05-30 at 11.04.12 AMHanging from the beam, Slowly swaying (such the law),

 

Gaunt the shadow on your green,

 

      Shenandoah!

 

The cut is on the crown

 

      (Lo, John Brown),

 

And the stabs shall heal no more.

 

Hidden in the cap

 

      Is the anguish none can draw;

 

So your future veils its face,

 

      Shenandoah!

 

But the streaming beard is shown

 

      (Weird John Brown),

 

The meteor of the war.

 

- Herman Melville, 1859

 

With compliments,

Keith

LiteratureKeith HarrisCivil War era poetry, Herman Melville, John Brown, The PortentComment