Mother-of-pearl

Where I got the button

So you want to upgrade your civil war uniform and don't know where to start


I finger the buttons on this old shirt
as mother-of-pearl memories come to me,
Turning and catching my eye like fish flying from water
Glinting colorful in clear sun

My darling boy,
My war-time dead,
The memory of all I held dear
In you
Leaps now, and
still so long past,
I feel the water move
And sun warm
Without the rain of tears.

In our blue and grey war,
I remember how your uniform
Felt to my fingers, the rough wool
the stench of blood, the coating of dirt,
Dust, and the grit of plant pollen captured by weave and wind

We sat on that ravaged hillside
While smoke lingered, mingled with the moans of dying men,
And I held your arm tight as if that would keep you
From leaving

Me in the mist of war dead