Gettysburg-"His Turn"

"HIS TURN" On the nineteenth of November, in eighteen sixty-three, a lengthy speech just ended and the crowd stirred restlessly. As he sat on the podium, that dedication day, he checked his notes to verify those words he'd chose to say. He wore black crepe around his hat in memory of his son. He thought of all the men who died and the battle that was won. A whiff of death breezed through the air as he stepped up to speak. Would they pay heed to his words? Would his message be too weak? His face was gaunt, yet he stood tall, and spoke with words sincere. They seemed impressed by what he said, he'd struck a chord so clear. His somber tone provoked their thoughts, with feelings so profound. They sensed this was a special time upon, that plot of ground. The crowd was hushed, made no response, he thought he'd failed that day. But ,truth be told ,he'd touched them all ,by what he had to say. It only took two minutes time to give a speech so great, and history has proven, ......it was well worth the wait. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- The guest speaker at Gettysburg on dedication day was Mr. Edward Everett. He was given forty days to prepare his speech. It was comprised of over 13000 words and took two hours to deliver. President Lincoln was called seventeen days before the dedication and asked to give some brief dedicatory remarks to close out the ceremony. His speech comprised of 272 words and took about two minutes to deliver. Quite a contrast. Since all of the corpses had not beencompletely buried as yet.there was a strong noxious odor noticeable to all present. As President Lincoln sat waiting for two hours, he must have wondered if the crowd would be receptive to his comments. Mypoem tries to depict thatmomentous occasion------------