Cockfighting at General Orlando B. Wilcox's Headquarters Before Petersburg

[TranquillityBase]

Gathered by a tent
under a crude thatching of pine boughs
on camp chairs, or standing, or sitting
on the sandy loam
smiling at the fight to come
or watching the cmameraman's intent
(one, arms folded
seems deep in thought
unaware or disapproving)
encircling two kneeling freedmen 
who hold the angry cocks eye to eye
with outstretched arms 
just above the battle ground.

In the center
but outside the scene
an older man sits
legs crossed
a letter in his right hand
noticing
but not a partisan of either spectacle.

[Kerbonzo_beenz]

Is that photo from a book? If so, coulda tell me which one?

I would like to learn about Petersburg.

[Mark A Becker]

"or watching the cmameraman's intent" 

Hey Tim,
sp on "cameraman's".

I think this would work better without the pic, but it is an interesting photo.

I guess cockfighting could relieve some of the stress during the longest siege of the civil war, and right before Lee surrendered.

Maybe you could work in some of your thoughts related to that siege... ?

Just wonderin',
Mark

[TranquillityBase]

Is that photo from a book? If so, coulda tell me which one?

I would like to learn about Petersburg.

Photo is from Library of Congress web site. Wikipedia will probably tell you more than you want to know about the siege of Petersburg.  I found the photo decades ago and wrote the poem to go with it back then.  Not sure where I originally found the photo.

[RiverNotch]

in an emotional state right now, lol, but hey, this is misc

misspelled cameraman

i didn't really get the poem in my first few reads, but coming back to it, yeah, while it would be more interesting to really, idk, digest the scene, i feel like the point here is to convey some sort of metaphor about the civil war? like, to bring out what the photographer probably intended. it's not a remarkable ekphrasis, i think, in that it doesn't bring something distinctively its own -- it doesn't seem, to me, lush or dense enough -- but, as an exercise, it seems clean. not quite what i would have honed in on -- i'd like to see the contents of that letter, or perhaps to feel what those freedmen are feeling serving these white men, and i don't think the man with the crossed arms was either unaware or disapproving -- but it's a nice read for precisely that.

[dukealien]

Quite outside the poem... at first glance I interpreted the semi-reclining man in the center (definitely the center of the picture) as an artist with smock and pallet... but on subsequent examination I'm convinced he's holding a sheaf of banknotes.  In other words, he's holding the bets.

[TranquillityBase]

"or watching the cmameraman's intent" 

Hey Tim,
sp on "cameraman's".

I think this would work better without the pic, but it is an interesting photo.

I guess cockfighting could relieve some of the stress during the longest siege of the civil war, and right before Lee surrendered.

Maybe you could work in some of your thoughts related to that siege... ?

Just wonderin',
Mark

I looked at 100s of these Civil War photos over the years but something about this one made me want to reproduce it in words.  Wasn’t thinking about revising because it’s an artifact itself.  But your suggestion got me to thinking.  For example, I’d think they would have seen enough blood and death not to entertain themselves this way.  

Thanks for the read and the impetus.

Tim

---

River:

Yes, it’s a pretty lame ekphrastic poem.  I think I was just fascinated by the faces.  Posting it, I was hoping they would complement each other and folks would enjoy the far superior photo a little more by comparing them.  

Duke:

Astute observation.  Pretty sure that is OBW himself.

Thanks to both for the read/look.