Lee in agony

By Walt Garlington

Lee’s tormentors
Lack none of the demonic rage
Of past persecutors –
Dismembering him and his steed
Piece by piece, as they also
Cut Christ’s martyrs apart
One joint at a time;
Heating the furnace
To infernal degree
Like Nebuchadnezzar’s
Disgraceful men
For the Three Holy Youths.
Defying their hatred,
His face glowed in the fire
With sad nobility –
Foolish souls! You have confounded yourselves,
Making manifest what had been hidden:
The greater glory of Lee!
Remember ye the tale of Moses,
How his face glowed with Uncreated Light
After conversing face-to-Face with God?
You have revealed the state
Of Lee in Heaven,
Whose Christ-like suffering
For the Southern people,
And whose imitation
Of the humble God-man’s mission
Of reconciliation,
By sweetening the bitterness
Lingering after the War
Between South and North,
Have brought him into the presence
Of the Lord Whom he so loved
And faithfully served here on earth,
And in His presence
Beholds the Beauty
Streaming from that Countenance
Which fills all things with Light.
Foolish souls! You sought to mock,
But you have received the scorn instead.
You sought to dishonor,
But it is you who are covered with shame.
For General Lee now rides
Traveller upon the heights of Heaven,
Bearing in his hand
His sword with holiness
All a-flaming,
A name, a life, a symbol
More potent than ever
To rebuke his foes,
To uplift his friends,
And to rouse all Dixie
To join him on Heaven’s heights!

Walt Garlington is a chemical engineer turned writer and editor of the website Confiteri: A Southern Perspective. His other poems include “Constantius Lee,” “Zebulon Lee,” and “Memorial Day in Dixie.”

Editor’s note: Be sure to check out the St. Herman Calendar 2024, which features a Garlington-penned opening essay celebrating the Orthodox Saints of Persia. It would make a lovely Nativity gift for any Orthodox Christians on your list. And a gift idea for the kiddos is “Robert E. Lee: A History Book for Kids” by Southern lady and friend Anne Wilson Smith. A related giving opportunity is “Lee Rides Again,” a fundraiser organized by the Gordonsville Grays (SCV Camp 2301) who are “leading the charge to raise a new monument” in honor of our beloved hero. And to learn more about the history and life of Robert Edward Lee, here’s an excellent series on him as a believer, a father, a soldier, and an educator.

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