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POEMS - 2022 - Samuel B. Herredsford the 3rd



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SAMUEL B. HERREDSFORD the 3rd



Samuel B. Herredsford the 3rd

Is not Samuel’s current name

But nonetheless important

In a very auspicious game


Samuel and his men went marching

O’re the heather of Brittle-Brack

As Samuel carried the ashes of

His brother upon his back


They trekked beneath a sky of gray
At dawn, high up on the moors
Their long-guns loaded with bullets

Their sacs with gauze and cures


They solemnly sang a mournful song

Whilst climbing the wintery peak
Which overlooked the county

With it’s borders tense and bleak


When Samuel stopped to take a rest

And the mist from the mountain cleared

He trembled at a startling sight

As his brother’s killer neared


Both troops of men climbed up the trail
One just behind the other
One who carried the ashes, and

One who killed his own brother


When Samuel the 3rd reached the top

He spun round with feet set apart

Raising his gun, cocked by his ear

To block the rising rampart


He bellowed forth, “You shall stand down!”

Eying a bead on his brother’s head

“No I shall not!” replied his brother

“I’ve a right to respect the dead!”


Samuel the 3rd focused his aim
And steadied his shoulder to shoot
When a flock of pheasants flew to the air

Striking chaos amongst the group


Rocks and gravel swirled in the wind
As soldiers dropped to the ground
Mayhem, havoc and bedlam ensued

In the din of the turbulent sound


Barrels of rifles swung in the air
As none could see the other
None could tell the difference between

An enemy ... or a brother


“Stand down I say!” yelled Samuel

“Turn around and don’t look back!”
As he tried to gain his footing

And spurn a sudden attack


But Samuel the 2nd lay lifeless

Cold and mute upon the ground

For he had suffered a heart attack

In the "maylay" of the round


Samuel the 3rd cried out in angst

With tears in both his eyes

“One's reduced to ashes

And one gives up and dies!”


He turned his face to Heaven

And wept in a beam of light

“Take me! Not him!” was Samuel’s cry

“I’ll bear the horrid plight!”


The brother’s men took action

And pounded the lifeless heart
But t’was Samuel's chest
That pummelled in pain

O’re the war that tore them apart


The rescuers finally found a pulse

Wrapped him shivering in a blanket

They propped him up to see the view

Gave him brandy … and he drank it


Samuel the 2nd then tried to speak

As he gasped for a wisp of air

Whilst he and his brother locked their eyes

In a searingly painful stare


Samuel the 3rd burned with rage

As he heaved the urn to the sky

“T’was never more a gentle man

Than the one I lift on high!”


“Hate has destroyed the innocent
Their lives a sorrowful song
Leaving us the rough and ragged

To render right from wrong.”


As Samuel the 3rd waved the dust
Lightening struck the ashes
Whirls of which encircled the men

And landed on their lashes


“Oy!” cried Samuel, wiping his eyes
With scarred and swollen wrists
“The ashes have turned to embers!

On fire within our midst!”


Swirling cinders fanned to flames

As thunder roared up the vale
And seasoned soldiers held their breath

At sights beyond the pale


The broiling blaze then split apart

Revealing one of their kin

As Samuel B. Herredsford the 1st

Emerged from world’s within


There on top of the mountain
Amidst the struggle and the strife
Their most beloved brother

Had stepped back into life


He blinked and winked and spun around
Wth his finger upon his chin
And tilted his head so slightly

With a mischievously roguish grin


He opened his mouth
And from it flowed
Words that poured into a bowl
“With this I dane to save you from

Destroying what’s left of your soul.”


“Thank you for the send off” he mused
“But it is I who’ll be sending you
For God above has granted me

One final fateful coup.”


“I’ve watched you from the heavens
As the light dimmed from your stars
And lest I make this wish for you

You cannot heal the mars


So here it is my brothers

To save you from the battle

From this day forth you shall be known

As roaming highland cattle


You shall keep your memories
Of family and of home
But you shall forage fodder

That springs from earthen loam


You shall have a coat of hair
To keep you warm in winter
But you will hide behind the trees

To shield you in the hinter


You shall have a set of horns
To scare the wits of foes
But you will play with children

Who will kiss you on the nose


And when your days are over

And you lay amongst the stones
The hatred will have melted

From the marrow of your bones.”


Then a gentle zephyr wind

Cloaked the soldiers in a mist

Up and up their spirits went

Their bodies guised in grist


And when they returned

To mortal ground

Their hooves formed prints on the earth

Such a peace they had not known

Since the days before their birth


Then down the mountain

Together they strolled

A path nought from which they climbed

For they were ignorant of the borders

That divided most mankind


Late that night, in damp and cold

Their families formed a quest

Some had warned "Stay out of it"

But some had hoped the best


And even though the stories told

Were troubling and absurd

To their shock, they found aloft

An inexplicably mysterious new herd


And after years of waiting

For Samuel the 2nd and 3rd

There was still only speculation

O're memories bleak and blurred


The elders kept on fighting

Refusing to breach the tether

But the youth would not be shackled

By the schisms of the nether


So the offspring met in meadows

In bleak and beautiful weather

Where they danced around their fathers

Who grazed side-by-side together


And alas! The youngest's epiphany

Was to give both of the bulls new names
And so they became Hamish & Shamish
In a raft of New Highland Games.



Sheila Willar - 20221217

Merry Christmas and Peace on Earth!



     
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SHUTTERSTOCK IMAGE



One of the biggest failures of human-kind, is the failure to acknowledge and respect the gifts within each other.


SW - 20221217


....................................



Matthew 18:3    KJV


And said [Jesus], Verily I say unto you,

Except ye be converted,

and become as little children,

ye shall not enter into the kingdom of Heaven.

     

....................................


1 John 4:20    KJV


If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?


....................................


Luke 2:7-14   KJV


7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.


8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.


9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.


10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.


11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.


12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.


13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,


14

Glory to God

in the highest,

and on earth peace,

good will

toward men.


....................................


     




Copyright 2024 Sheila Willar


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