John Morgan's Cavalry

By Brooks Carver

 

The early morning sun pierced a mist

That lay soft on the barren hills.

A ragged troop of cavalry stood,

Stark silhouettes on the high ground,

Spectral and far, far from home.

 

Quiet drawling voices spoke

In whispers to restless mounts.

 

They waited.

 

The jangle and rattle of harness

muffled by a hot summer haze

Carried halfway down the hill.

 

The enemy prowled, prodded and

Crouched low in the stubble of

The soon-to-be killing fields

As if to hide in embarrassed shame

The madness about to commence.

 

Young men, careless, lean and wild,

With crushed soft hats drawn over

Hard eyes and blasted faces,

Lingered along the ridgeline,

Ready to die or win.

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Brooks Carver is a writer of historical fiction and a poet. His family comes from the Blue Ridge region of North Carolina. He has a Reconstruction-era novel set in eastern Tennessee, The Angels' Share, now out on speculation. At present Brooks is working on the sequel and another manuscript about Confederate Cavalry General John Hunt Morgan.