This poem is part of the special section, New Poems of U.S. History, reflecting on the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence selected by editors Carolivia Herron, Summer Tate, and Robert Bettmann. You can read more about the section on the Day Eight website here.
On the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Town of Washington Grove, Maryland
Before there was a town —fields,
and before the fields
a forest. Chestnut, Oak, Hickory,
Maple. Quartz quarries speak
of an age before even trees.
Tonight we sing of songs
no longer sung and songs to be.
Who came here first? Ancestors
of the birds whose choruses
greet dawn and bid the day adieu,
behemoth saurids whose long strides
shook tender ground. Then fire
and ice, rains upon rains,
woodland and marsh, green springs,
golden autumns. New migrants
followed game down long river valleys.
They came to hunt, to plant, to chip
the pale stones, shape the red clay.
We cannot know the names
they called themselves — Their songs
forgotten now. And who came after?
Farmers and refugees who cleared
timber to make fences, played
their lonesome fiddles late
into the night.
Farm wagons followed tracks
laid down by deer, dusty in summer,
muddy and rutted in spring. Chickens
ran where turkeys gobbled once.
Cattle took the place of deer, dogs
howled to a moon that saw it all
before we came to linger here.
There were drums of war. No battle
here, only widows wearing weeds
to grieve. There were lilacs in the yard.
Before there was a town, the railroad
had to come. Then tent and tabernacle.
New trees planted. Cottages and gravel
paths laid out under maple, hickory,
and oak. The summer people came
and stayed the winter. The townsfolk
sang late, late into the night. Wars came.
Peace followed. Hard times and times
of plenty. More wars. More peace.
Now here we are — and who
will follow us? A song
cannot remain the same,
lest it die. Even the moon
must wax and wane. Tonight
we’ll sing old songs
so new songs might take flight.
W. Luther Jett is a native of Montgomery County, Maryland and a retired
special educator. His poetry has been published in numerous journals and
anthologies. His poetry performance piece, Flying to America, debuted at
the 2009 Capital Fringe Festival in Washington D.C. Luther’s poem
“Monuments” was among the winning poems in the 2021 “Moving Words”
competition, sponsored by the city of Arlington. His poem “Zeta” was a co-
winner in the 2022 American Writers Review competition, sponsored by
San Fedale Press. Luther’s poem “How Many Fingers”, published in
the Mid-Atlantic Review, was nominated for the 2022 Pushcart Prize. He is the
author of six poetry chapbooks: “Not Quite: Poems Written in Search of My
Father”, (Finishing Line Press, 2015), and “Our Situation”, (Prolific Press,
2018), “Everyone Disappears” (Finishing Line Press, 2020), “Little Wars”
(Kelsay Books, 2021), “Watchman, What of the Night?” (CW Books,
2022), and “The Colour War”, which was released in late 2024 by Kelsay
Books. His full-length collection, “Flying to America” was published by
Broadstone Press in spring, 2024. Luther is facilitator of a monthly virtual
open mic sponsored by the Hyattstown Mill Arts Project in Maryland. He
also coordinates two monthly on-line poetry critique workshops.
Featured image Dietmar Rabich / Wikimedia Commons / “Dülmen, Naturschutzgebiet -Am Enteborn- — 2014 — 0202” / CC BY-SA 4.0
