The Silent Witness

Ephemeral wildflowers covered the fields:
asters, goldenrods and black-eyed susans -
a mosaic of colors on the landscape
like paint on canvas – a wonderful sight
trampled upon by men with guns
and horse-drawn artilleries from both
the Confederate and Union troops
 
Soon the largest battle ever fought
during the civil war ensued,
for three unrelenting days, it lasted
Thousands have died, got wounded,
and thousands more were missing…
 
Thousands of bodies lay blackened,  
bloated and festering under the July sun
The once mosaic of colors now gone,
beautiful landscape painted with blood
witnessed by peach and apple trees
that can hardly provide protection
from the advancing cavalry men
 
The gallantry of men who fought—
remembered and honored, they were
by our beloved president, Lincoln
on his famous Gettysburg address
They may have died and suffered
for what they firmly believe,
but their heroic deeds will remain
forever in our brains
None of them left standing,
but monuments have risen
from where they had fallen,
the wildflowers continue to bloom
and that old sturdy apple tree –
the only silent witness left
to the follies and wickedness of war
Today, it’s still standing tall
whispering through the misty Fall breeze,
“When will you foolish guys ever learn?”