Recently, Grade 6 students took a trip to Boston during which they toured many of the historical sites and landmarks of Beantown. The students visited the ship USS Constitution, Bunker Hill, Faneuil Hall / Quincy Market, and a number of other stops along the famed Freedom Trail. One of these stops was the Old North Church, and after visiting this important landmark in American history, students crafted the following poem from the perspective of a colonist during the American Revolution. This, along with the other poems the class created, were based on a collection of poems by Kay Winters entitled Colonial Voices: Hear Them Speak.
Old North
Glimmer, and then a gleam of light
Shine for only a moment or two,
So bright.
Down low, under the floor,
Relatives lie peacefully,
Among the other thousands of men
Awaiting a second chance
But remembering their past life.
They lay under the floorboards,
Creaking and wooden,
Playing hide and seek in the 37 crypts.
April 18th, the year of 1775, comes and goes
Eve falling, darkness covering
With a silent hush.
The townsmen file, one by one,
Into their homes, warm and bright.
Two men stand alone
Two lanterns, black as night in their hands.
Climbing up the stairs, to the chamber overhead
The ravens crowing, startled.
Men watching the belfry,
Waiting for the signal
Finally, two lanterns shine in the window,
Lighting up the sleepy town for a moment
Letting them know “it is time.”
The pews fill the next morning,
As if nothing had happened at all.
Silently waiting, we could feel the tension in the air.
I was blinded as I felt the tension,
Blinded — and I stumbled over my own feet.
By: Drew B. , Kat C. , Sandra P. , and Grace A.