THE MEMOIRS OF SUMMER RAY

This morning’s bike ride was a little more rough than usual. I tried to push myself probably harder than I should have. After riding up a pretty steep hill without stopping, for the first time ever, I was pretty nauseous. I had to lie down for a few minutes to settle my stomach and rest. I knew it was best to shorten the ride and head for home. So we cut through Pickett’s Charge. This is the field where brave Confederate Soldiers walked across the open field on July 3, 1863, while the Union Army was blasting most of them to bits with cannon fire or shot them to death.

I cannot walk this field without being overcome with emotion. I can hear them cheering me on as I feel their presence. They reminded me why I do what I do. When dreams take what we think is too long to come true, we tend to loose the original zeal that we started with. I needed to remember my first love passion for these soldiers, I have grown so attached to.

Though the book and film series are indeed a “Mission” and “Message of Hope,” they are also a tribute to the Civil War Soldiers who died for causes they believed in. I know I must sound insensitive to our modern day heroes, who fight for our freedom as I don’t always address them. Being a daughter of a US NAVY dad, I try to honor our military the best I can. The book and film series are also geared toward the prevention of soldier suicide. But these Civil War Soldiers on these battlefields, their spirits still linger in such a way that words cannot accurately define. Their voices still echo off the blighted landscape that can instantly bring me to my knees.

AGELESS

Your arm reached across this dusty road,

As if my heart to shield.

So many stories and words untold,

Of this ageless battlefield.

 

Though I couldn’t see your color worn,

You transcended through time and space.

As if were, to adorn,

My sorrow with light and grace.

 

Feeling trapped, just like you,

I understood your need.

My love for you it only grew,

My soul for you did bleed.

 

Why I am here? I do not know,

Perhaps you are teaching me.

What words and pictures cannot show,

Of a past that will always be.

 

As time and time again I tried,

To let go and walk away.

God and you, both held my stride,

Asking for me to stay.

 

Though many do not believe you’re here,

Like you were from days of old.

I know you have made it all too clear,

As I walk this dusty road.

 

That you are alive and still march on,

To the bloody drums ageless beat.

Letting me know that I belong,

And to hold the line and not retreat.

 

But a soldier I’m not, no not like you,

Nor will I ever be.

Still your ageless bravery, tried and true,

Will always be a part of me.

Juliana Love – Savannah’s Calling Volume 2 – Summer Ray Series

 

Finding a 4 leaf clover on Pickett’s Charge was like finding a needle in a haystack. It was as if they were saying to me, “March On!” So, we march!

Juliana