Undertaker | Teen Ink

Undertaker

March 17, 2012
By AlleyMay37 BRONZE, GLENDALE, Arizona
AlleyMay37 BRONZE, GLENDALE, Arizona
2 articles 0 photos 0 comments

Tuesday morning March 6, 1770
On King Street in Boston Massachusetts
The flowers begin to bloom
The air begins to warm
The roses match the pools of red
The air hints the birth of summer; death of winter
A truly beautiful day

He was called by the soldiers to clean the mess
They didn’t trust Bostonians; they wanted to protect the Customs house
This is why they forbade the clearing of the dead; to protect themselves
The undertaker however, could be trusted; He only bothered with the dead
They knew him from the war; he was brave against the French and their Indians
He could have ascended the ranks; but he chose to serve the dead
Now he lives in a small town, just outside of Boston Massachusetts

He was summoned late on the night of the event Monday, March 5 1770
He put things in order then saddled a horse
Now he travels to Boston
When he finds himself in town he hears stories of a massacre
4 men have died and at least one is almost there
“The tyrants sent the lobster backs and now the lobster backs have murdered”
“You there, are you ready to take arms for an independent America; The tyrants have murdered
your brethren”

His infantry mate Capt. Preston is there to meet the undertaker; But the captain is under guard
“Unfortunate for death to have to occur; I tried to break up the riot but the people were too
outrageous”
There is blood on the ground of King Street, stamped out by the melee
3 men lay dead on the street; one colored sailor, one rope maker; one mariner
“The fourth man is in a building on the next block, I would’ve brought him here to ease your task

But his mother and bride acted as outrageous as the rioters”
He does not respond; he begins his work

Soldiers who’ve fought with him salute; others walk by worried of the Bostonian
The Boston folk know of his heroics and prod his opinion but then are run off by angry bayonets
Both sides try to convince him
“There’s a revolution brewin’; the massacre’ll spark it, it’s time to join and fight, Are you gonna
aide the revolution?”
“You just wait, Parliament will crack down on these barbarous colonists it’s a matter of civil

authority, keeping the peace, and loyalty to the crown, Make sure you’re on the right
side”
The undertaker just works; silently he ignores and works
3 men then; one man later; another one struggling; total of five

The right, the wrong, it is all meaningless.
No matter the sides he cleans up the mess.


The author's comments:
I wrote this poem after reading two primary sources concerning the Boston Massacre. One was from the view point of a British soldier, the other was the article written in the Boston Gazzete. I didn't like how the Gazzete used the deaths to push their anti-British agenda or how the soldier blamed everything on the unarmed 'rioters'. Hence "The Undertaker"

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