Please Don't Tell Aunt Martha

A Civil War poem

I did my best, oh mother dear, the cruel war to survive

knowin’ that you’d need your son, since papa up’t and died

I thought we’d run them Yankees back, right north into Missouri

it’d only take a week or two; no need was there for worry

Two thousand strong, we left Fort Smith, marching toward Cane Hill

and that is where we found Blunt’s men and blood began to spill

It wasn’t like I thought it’d be, I’m very sad to say

cause somethin' happens to your soul when murder has its way

Killin’ ain’t a natural thing that good folks ought to do

and that is why my finger froze when I seen cousin Hugh

I know he never saw my face, but just a suit of grey

so please don't tell Aunt Martha who put me in my grave

Author's Note

Inspired by the Battle of Cain Hill, fought on November 28, 1862 near Fayetteville, Arkansas. I can't confirm that he was present at the battle, but my great-grandfather, Richard Dickens, was assigned to one of the units.

Reviews

[Annette Pisano-Higley]

Civil War-an oxymoron...Family against family, tainting the earth with spillage of innocent blood...your dramatic and well-written poem so poignantly drives this home in the gentle, innocent words of a young boy and his tragic death by the hand of a cousin. Your great-grandfather (amazing picture) must have seen so much devastation. Excellent use of historical facts, colloquial language of the period, beautiful form, flow, cadence, imagery and rhyme. Took my breath away Sam. Kudos for this important and touching memorial.

[Samuel Dickens]

Thank you, Annette. I wish we could learn from our mistakes.

[emmajoygreen]

An incredible literary re-enactment of truth, the whole truth and the evil it so often is. Such a tragedy to think of a cousin killin another. How on earth could the two families cope with the knowledge that they had the same bloodline. The hell of miltary politics has always existed, always will. Since my teens have wondered why - if that first war had created peace, how diffent our world might have been. We'll never know. You, Sam, take a situation and give it breath. Because of the personal aspect of the tale plus its history, this should be read in every government house and place of education. If the past didn't care, perhaps the future will. That or we'll blow Human UNkind to invisibility. Brilliant, sir.

[Samuel Dickens]

Thank you. You are quite correct.

[Twilight]

This is great writing, with the kind of language which soldiers; may have used during that time. The Author's Note is interesting too, adding historical context. When the protagonist sees cousin Hugh, face to face; he was also about to "meet his maker" (so to speak). It serves as a grim reminder, of how that bloody and cruel civil war, divided not only your great nation; but families too. We must never forget, the harsh realities of war.

[Samuel Dickens]

Thank you. There's a nice park there now, on the site of the "Battle of Cain hill". In my photos, I have a drawing of my Great grandfather who was a Civil War vet. Some folks today think we need another civil war. They are fools.

[Marie]

Will a day ever dawn when our beautiful world will be '' war free''? You have captured exquisitely what a soldier believes when he goes to war, thinking it will be over very quickly and this letter home to his loving Mother tells a very different story. The mental anguish of killing a human being must be a thought which takes over one's whole mind. I guess "survival mode" takes over? Wars pit brother against brother, family against family! I can never understand it or fathom it out, Sam. So extremely sad that this soldier who really didn't want to be a soldier, was killed by his own cousin because the soldier recognised his cousin and could not do to him what his cousin did to him. A v-e-r-y poignant, finely pinned poem with universal appeal, Sam. THANK YOU! for sharing...

[Samuel Dickens]

Thank you, Marie. Again, we're on the same page. Someone long ago said, "what if someone gave a war and no one came?" I wish that could happen.

[Marie]

Thank you for your lovely response, Sam. Yes, I would love to live long enough to see that happen, dear friend. Those who call for the war are not the ones who have to fight in the war. If they did, we might see an end to the war in our lifetime. Human beings will bring about their own demise through their inhumanity. "My Wild Irish Rose" is the best anti-war song I have ever heard. George Jones sings it and every time I put it on the tears tumble down my face like a waterfall. It tells the story of a soldier who returned from the war haunted by what he saw. The ending of the song is heartbreaking, Sam. You may know it already, if not, just once listen to it on Youtube. This is the link, Sam: https://youtu.be/UfAPhJW5fOY?si=ulKst6mnIuYHgT9a
The Green Fields Of France sung by Finbar Furey is the European equivalent of an excellent anti-war song. Written by Eric Bogle, an Australian singer/songwriter it is an amazing song. The Youtube link is:
https://youtu.be/XDyip7SIJkQ?si=zcxoCNSb2eqgpbMc
Kindly let me know what you think, Sam. Thank you so very much...

[Marie]

Ps/ "My Wild Irish Rose" should be "Wild Irish Rose". (It's a whiskey in the U.S.A. Sam...)

[Samuel Dickens]

Just came from youtube, where I watched/listened to both songs. Each in their own way do an outstanding job of expressing the loss and futility of war. Musically, I think I prefer Eric Bogle, but both are moving.
Due to an almost feral upbringing, I was poorly equipped to go out into the world. With no money for collage, I really had no choice but to join the military after high school in 1967. I went to Vietnam, but was relatively safe onboard an aircraft carrier, sailing around in the Gulf of Tonkin. Three of my boyhood friends who joined the Army didn't make it. Those were terrible times, to say the least. Thank you for directing me to those songs.

[Marie]

So pleased you enjoyed both anti-war songs, Sam. War is soul destroying! I am so very saddened to read how difficult life was for you growing up. I am so happy to read that while in Vietnam you were safe and so very sorry to read three of your dear friends didn't make it, bless them. Those were, as you so rightly say, terrible times to say the least, Sam and thank God you will never have to go through all of that again. God bless you always and take the greatest good care of you and your dear family, Sam...

[Esteban Morfín]

Just... wow. It gave me goosebumps.

[Samuel Dickens]

Thanks. I'm glad you like it.

[Red Brick Keshner]

That is quite the saddest tale of blood relatives on opposite sides of the fence. And to that add the name of that infamous hill - Cain. A splendid and personal poem with an unbounded universality. Thanks for having shared this gem. /Frederick.

[Samuel Dickens]

Thank you, Frederick. I'd never made the "Cain" connection to the battle, but now it's even more meaningful.

[Relic]

I never saw this one, Sam. And I never knew you wrote poems. This is excellent to read and captures the character of the soldier and the circumstances so well. How horrifying would it be to realize you shot one of your own on the battlefield.

I remember reading that at one point in the war, the soldiers took a break from the fighting and actually joined with each other on a hill as companions. When the break was over, they when back to killing each other. So strange.

I'm so glad I caught this one. Love it. :)

[Samuel Dickens]

Thank you. I read that during one of the skirmishes not from here, several soldiers switched sides. Not surprising, since I know many Arkansans came from the north. In my own family tree, there were several who came from Indiana.

[SweetNutmeg]

Oh what a sad twist at the end. You're making me cry again. You always find a way to touch my heart, with laughter or tears. You truly move me.

[Samuel Dickens]

Thank you. No matter how many die, we never wise up.

[Lorry]

Well it certainly has that ring of truth to it that only adds to your point Samuel, that war, no matter what flag it is fought under, isn't the photogenic adventure that movies make it look, or as prosaic as history books make it sound.
The first time most would have held a gun was on the battlefield and the stark truth is that war is indeed a slow and lingering hell.

[Samuel Dickens]

Thank you. You are absolutely right.

[emmajoy]

For a Brit this was American history on the first reading; a dramatic and finely written poem on the second reading, Then - then the truth wracked with wretched emotions hit and hit hard, Sam, Have read your stories over the years, had to come here, to find an early post not read. In the past, 'read heart, history and more in your posts, But this extraordinarily vivid and yet quite few words, shows the evil and fury of civil war, the spilling of one's own blood-bank. Your final line.. is.. tragic.

[Samuel Dickens]

Thank, dear Emma. That war was tragic and senseless, and all these years later, it's still not over in some ways. (Impossible for me to understand)

[emmajoy]

More than likely, with your sensitivity and experience, you've taken notice; you know and understand the truth. Protecting self without hurting others has been a damnable problem since we lot walked the earth. Pity we haven't walked with our minds and tongue but then, that's another story or poem. Take care, Sam, keep safe, please. :)

[john l smith]

A stark reminder of the mindless horrors of war even more magnified by relative against relative
Now, another weapons pact is failing and all these brainless a******s want to create even more killing potential
the stupidity of mankind

[Samuel Dickens]

Indeed, you are right. Clearly, mankind is a deeply flawed species.