Plantation Tamerlaine... #5 in the series

[DonDi]

Plantation Tamerlaine

A tale I am about to tell,
Of one adventure great.
So sit right down and listen close,
And try not to be late.

It started on a fair spring morn,
She climbed down from her bed.
She dressed herself and brushed the hair,
Upon her fair skinned head.

Her face like alabaster was,
Her eyes were sapphire blue.
Her eyes were focused on the frame,
Which held her love so true.

Will he be home today, she mused,
If so, will he be well?
The last good look she had of him.
He marched off into hell.

Why do these men go off to war?
Why try to maim and kill?
Just sit here in this mansion grand,
Upon this Georgia hill.

He had no slaves to fight to keep,
Just land and fields to tend.
It is a shame that when it’s done,
The wounded may not mend.

She had a muffin and some tea,
And walked to the front door.
She walked around the bloodstain spot,
Upon the hard pine floor.

Her son had fallen down the stairs,
One year ago today.
She went outside to see the cross,
Out where his body lay.

For two long years her man was gone,
To join in this damned fight.
When would these men just get a mind,
And try to see the light.

She looked out on the land around,
As far as she could see.
And thought that it was owned in whole,
“By just one man and me.”

She saw some riders coming near,
But they were far away.
The only thing that she could tell,
They were not wearing gray.

Blue uniforms were soon in sight,
Her heart began to sink
She feared the worst for she had heard,
Of Sherman’s mighty stink.

On they rode so slow and sure,
They sat the saddles high.
In only a short space of time,
The troopers had drawn nigh.

The captain was a handsome man,
He tipped his hat to her.
He asked if this were Tamerlaine,
The home of John and Cher.

She nodded with her voice still mute,
Fear showed in both her eyes,
The fact that he knew of their names,
Had filled her with surprise.

“I have good news”, he told her then,
“Your husband will be free.
He’s lost a leg, but not to war,
He lost it to save me.”

“My horse had stumbled on a track,
My cinch strap slipped around.
I found myself wedged tightly in,
The train track on the ground.”

“Alone I was, could not get free,
When John came riding by.
I thought for sure he’d shoot me dead,
But all he did was sigh.”

“He got down from his trusty mount,
And worked to get me free,
The train could have killed only me,
But got John at the knee.”

“He would not leave me there to die,
That’s why I rode this way.
He should be on a train back home,
He’ll leave there on this day.”

At that the captain turned his horse,
Then said, “Oh, by the way”,
“This bloody war is over now”,
And then he rode away.

Three days it took the train to come,
The people there did cheer.
When John departed from the train,
The noise too loud to hear.

She ran to him and hugged him tight,
He looked around for Tim,
For in so long no word had come,
To tell what befell him.

She told him of the tragic day,
The Lord took him away.
And how she got the news of John,
At one year to the day.

John looked at Cher, tears trickled down,
“I think I saw my son.”
“I saw a cloud that looked like him,
It felt that we were one”

Then home they went to Tamerlaine,
Their home throughout this life.
John learned to farm with just one leg,
With help from loving wife.

They had more children, girls and boys,
Farmed cotton and farmed grain.
And all lived out their mortal days,
Plantation Tamerlaine.




I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.