The Southern Yankee's Daughter

 

Dear Diary,

I sit in this old rocking chair,

Handed down from my mother's, mother's, mother.

So much history sits here,

Passed from one daughter to another.

 

How many babies,

Have rocked in this very spot?

I'll have to bury it now,

But it will never be forgot.

 

It will be hidden deep,

With the china and the silver,

So they won't  find it,

And decide to pilfer,

 

To pay for their dirty deeds,

In this war of the states.

Hide it under the soil,

So much is at stake.

 

The stark absence,

Of this precious heirloom,

Adds to the fear,

Heightens the sense of gloom.

 

I have to raise the moral here,

Cheer my dieing mother,

So she won't be so constantly worried,

About the welfare of my brother,

 

Fighting so hard,

To defend our beliefs.

Have to tend to our guests,

They'll move on when the world sleeps.

 

The neighbors call me a traitor,

For helping them as they go,

But I can no longer stand by,

And watch as they are sold.

 

The fields are all but dead now,

Food is becoming so hard to find.

But I made soup today,

From salted pork rinds.

 

It may not have been exactly,

What we most wanted to eat

But at least it contained,

Some precious scarce meat.

 

The days seem to blend,

One into the next.

I look all around and see,

The flag of the confederates.

 

All around me that Flag,

That I have come to abhor.

A letter came today,

With news I dislike even more.

 

I am not any longer,

Engaged to be wed.

I am not a southern bell,

But a "Yankee's Daughter", he said.

 

He said that though,

I may be from the south,

Yankee beliefs are all,

That "Spew" from my mouth

 

He couldn't tell me in person,

But instead sent a letter

I don't really know,

But I guess it's for the better.

 

I have to go now and help,

My guests be on their way.

Today wasn't at all good,

But tomorrow's another day.

 

I try to keep that in mind,

But the days just keep blending,

As I write in this diary,

And pray for the war's ending.

      

       Sincerely Yours,

                                 The Southern Yankee's Daughter

Reviews

[Sam]

I loved this piece! I love poems that reflect history. Not only were you able to capture the worries of th civil war but put a spin on it by making the main character a southerner who supports the north. Great job!