A SONNET TO SLAUGHTER
(inspired by the diary of Robert H. Carter, private: 22nd Massachusetts infantry)
The ground held no value, the town little use,
except for foot-rotted, grey-clad men
hoping to find much-needed shoes.
What followed was beyond their ken
when groves of peach trees and fields of wheat
became hallowed witness to brutalities
as lice-ridden troops, bound for defeat,
charged over meadows and fallen bodies.
The banshee wail of the rebel yell
arose with bayonets and shot lead;
cannonade shook buildings,roof tiles fell,
and after three days, desperation led
Gettysburg, then a place of little worth—
now one of lost causes, “a perfect hell on earth.”
2019 Helen Shaible Annual Sonnet Competition: third place
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