By Tom Riley
(In memoriam Robert E. Lee, d. October 12, 1870)
By tearing down your statue, they were sure
They could erase your spirit from our hearts
And render thus their bright blue lie secure—
The tale where all the liberating parts
Were theirs. They practiced cheap, dishonest arts
To bleed away the glory that impressed
Those of your time. But, when they cast their darts,
They struck a bogus target. I suggest
That you weren’t hurt at all. You have what’s best:
Your conscience was demanding, and is clear.
In the external you did not invest.
Beaten, your courage didn’t disappear.
We take you as our emblem still today,
O Father of a Country Clad in Gray.
***
For a poem in honor of Edgar Allan Poe by the same author:
https://flammeusgladius.wordpress.com/2022/10/07/non-sine-honore-in-terris-aliis/
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Holy Ælfred the Great, King of England, South Patron, pray for us sinners at the Souð, unworthy though we are!
Anathema to the Union!
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