History is to learn from.  Not to be dwelt on.  But to take the lessons learned into today so that we might build a better tomorrow.

Nestled
by Michael Romani

Nestled behind an old chapel
Rests with the bite of an apple
The storied fables of Tidewater gentry
Intermixed with familial history

With this is found reference to a legacy
That seems to some to center on brutality
But the moonlight and magnolias were contrary
But just as true as the truths about slavery

Perhaps as always there are shades of truth
These both are remembered and mistaken in youth
Some there are that engender only benighted nobility
And some that whisper only of false chivalry

But there are other parts of Southern heritage
That formed our country and provided gentile edge
A look at history tells of men forced to live two sides
Compromising with that which no compromise was had with pride

The presence of paradox blinds our vision
With banners on both sides screaming for revision
Of how in this land born while proclaiming freedom
Somehow slipped down the slopes of the Antebellum

(c) July 19, 2019  Michael Romani
All Rights Reserved