Reinventing the Life of a Poet in the Modern World

Tourist Poem Written After an Execution

Poem-ft-smithFirst of all, it's amazing where you come across poetry in your travels. Second, it's always moving to find a poem serving as an appeal to the afterlife.

On our way home from Pennsylvania after Christmas, Monsieur Big Bang wanted to stop in Fort Smith in order to do some research on Belle and Pearl Starr for his consulting project with the show Quick Draw.

At the Fort Smith historic site, I came across this poem called "My Dream" written by Rufus Buck on the backside of a photograph of his mother. It was found in his cell after his execution for rape on July 1, 1896.

I've cleaned it up…there's a piece of punctuation after practically every word…blame his fragile state of mind…and I've fixed the spelling.

 

 

 

 

The poem reads,

I dreamt I was in heavenamong the angels fair;
I'd ne'er seen none so handsome
that, twine in golden hair.
They looked so neat and sang so sweet
and played the golden harp.
I was about to pick an angel out
and take her to my heart
but the moment I began to plea
I thought of you, my love.
There was none I'd seen so beautiful
on earth or heaven above.

Goodbye my dear wife and mother,
also my sisters.
Rufus Buck,
Yours truly.

1 Day of July
in the year of
1896

Father, Son, Holy Ghost, Virtue, Resurrection
Remember me Rock of Ages

    

1 Comment

  1. Thomas

    Was he is referring to his mother when he wrote the following?
    “but the moment I began to plea
    I thought of you, my love.
    There was none I’d seen so beautiful
    on earth or heaven above?

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