Of all wars civil wars are the most ridiculous
Brother against brother father against father
I have fought in many of these wars
Some dating back to the sixteenth century
I have been wounded killed or listed as missing
During many of these insane conflicts
But I have always written poetry
The poetry of these civil wars
At present I am in exile in the South Seas
It sounds romantic and to some extent it is
I have tried to paint or compose songs
But I always return to my tired pen
A friend has given me a book of poetry
Poetry from the American Civil War
I can recall many of these poems
As I had the pleasure of meeting some of the poets
Frequently I collaborated anonymously with them
Like all wars this was a dirty filthy war
And I can remember helping good ladies
To bury both the Confederate and Union dead
The slaughter instead of inspiring my poetry
Silenced it for many years and it only reappeared
In my final years in Spain as I lay in hospital
After being executed for no real reason
I vanished shortly after that and was soon forgotten
Until I appeared here in the South Seas some years ago
I found I had a history a wife and considerable property
An angel told me that this was all mine
If I committed to an eternal exile on this island
And fought in no more wars
Be they internal or external
Or just imagined in dreams
God loved me I was sure of that
But he was far from pleased with me