Sprouting through the earth with illuminating life

I plant my roots firm to observe, to experience, to witness

I am compelled

to see, to share and say all

I am lulled, at peace with indigenous tribes who see me

not as foe, but friend.

The dreams they now imagined would indeed shape the nature of this place

and I, an immovable presence would make my mark as The Witness in this space.

Limbs as long as a century

changing tides, changing landscapes and altered lives

one culture has gone and another has come

the planters sow control

on the conscience of the enslaved it takes a daunting toll.

The pale reap many rewards while those in bondage cry out for a freedom only time can bring

fascinated and riddled with insurmountable questions

I, unable to move beyond my purpose

have now become a resting place for weary heads in this space as The Witness.

Firmly planted in the hallows of this high Bluff I too am blessed

I see them build dreams and I see them develop these lands

The 500 gathered shoulder to shoulder

they vowed to stand firm and agreed to secede

In that instance I was etched into Bluffton’s storied history

forever known as the Secession Oak

I observe the hopes and dreams many long for as I bear witness.

The evolution of man, of space in this place brings new sorrows, and new fears

strange fruit hanging in the distant, sowing seeds of inhumanity in the pome bears

yet a new dawn rising as the enslaved’s Emancipation is anticipated on the eve

Joys abounding, leaping and swelling with pride

for in this moment the Bluff’s river ushers in a new tide

carrying the froth of freedom.

Those once enslaved, no longer alien, no longer foreign, this is their home

They are now land owners, entrepreneurs, sea merchants, elected officials and liberators

history will reflect on them in this moment full of a vibrant hope as they are tuning, conducting

and orchestrating a symphony of resiliency, undeterred and forever perseverant

I, planted firmly, proudly attest to the triumph of their resiliency.

Withered and weighted with a familiar sorrow

the sun kissed who once reveled in the rising of a new dawn, pine now for a brighter tomorrow

Color coded water fountains and lunch counters

legalized hate embedded in Jim Crow, humanity forgotten as hate savagely grows

doors of hope now shut hermetically, licenses revoked, loans denied

the American Dream has manifested for some and robbed others of a sense of pride

Negro Baseball Leagues pitching promises of dream once deferred

Juke Joints whose melodies lift you and aroma of golden crackled fried chicken picks you

from the street to a seat

Demanding promises of freedom today, living in the present, unmovable and unfearing

tomorrow

Planted and peering, I witness.

Eclectic, eccentric, this slice of paradise I’ve been tethered to now over five centuries

has since archived the stories of many cultures, many lives

Tales sung and some still untold Funky restaurants and juke joint jives

From indigenous, Spanish, Gullah, Southerners, from Colleton River to the May River

I’ve observed them all.

They bear their souls against the dim light of the darkened sky

and I the Witness, shade their dreams and despairs for change is nigh I feel it near.

Fin

There’s something looming and unprecedented as never been witnessed before,

protests against police brutality, humanity united in Bluffton

demanding justice for George Floyd and all like him

who meet such a violent fate that extremism of politics,

gentrification patterned down familiar streets,

expansion, growth, change

We can acknowledge history, but we don’t have to revision it in a way that disenfranchises other

people.

There’s always a fear of romanticizing

horrible parts of American History, but this piece

will serve as a symbol of strength of this community

and the resiliency of those, many of whom have

been invisible but have persevered

in spite of adversities.