photo attributed to Matthew Brady’s studio, Nov. 1863

Towering figure
in a top hat
is not our President,
experts say

But the mien
of this man
has the mark
of a difficult journey

To Cemetery Hill,
where new-made graves
mounded the ground
as far as you could see

He is responding
to an invitation to speak
about the nation
and the dead

The man shot by Brady
looks like the Emancipator
and I choose to make
my own history

I choose to believe
in him, to believe
this is him, on his way
to history’s station

 

Tony Reevy’s previous publications include poetry, non-fiction and short fiction, including five non-fiction books and the full books of poetry, Old North, Passage, Socorro, and Turbulence. Reevy works in the Provost’s Office at NC State University and resides in Durham, North Carolina.