Terry D. Sutherland

THE HERO

Hidden in an alcove
In a mansion in the South
Is a family treasure trove
A history passed by mouth

Precious paper held the story
Written in symbols now unknown
Of an allegiance to Old Glory
And the bravery a slave had shown

His family worked the fields
Harvesting cotton with bleeding hands
Their way of life long sealed
By the rich owner of the land

He and his family spoke quietly
Of the event of civil war
By candle light they met nightly
Behind a closed cabin door

They spoke of precious freedom
Would Lincoln free the slaves?
How would his family find the kingdom?
Promised in the olden days

Each night they scratched a history
On brown paper by candle light
They wrote of the old mystery
Remembering the family left behind

When the war had started
And they saw the soldiers dressed in blue
He made sure they parted
With enough sustaining food

When the plantation had failed
No crops and no precious food
He burned the cotton bails
Denying the gray pillaging brood

During a night time battle
A Yankee soldier wandered in
Wounded and bleeding in the saddle
He gave him water in a cup of tin

He dressed the soldier’s wounds
And hid him through the night
Knowing his life would end soon
If he didn’t keep him out of sight

For three days he nursed him
And hid him from the gray
When he healed he dressed him
And sent him on his way

He knew if he was caught
He surely would be hanged
But he never gave a thought
To the Confederate soldiers fangs

When the war had ended
He moved his family North
Hiding their story as he intended
A new life was coming forth

Before he died he returned
And found his papers in the house
When he left he watched it burn
This old mansion in the South