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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!
SHUTTERSTOCK IMAGE
One of the biggest failures of human-kind, is the failure to acknowledge and respect the gifts within each other.
SW - 20221217
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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.
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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?
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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,
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