civil war buttons

your friend jimmy
spends many
of his weekends
looking for civil
war buttons out
in the rolling
fields of virginia.
who was sewing these
buttons on, you ask
inquisitively,
and how many buttons
were on each soldier's
jacket? seems like there
are a lot of them
still out there.
didnt' they have
strong thread back then?
hey, he says, sternly,
don't be mocking
the civil war. you'll
see, my friend,
the south will
rise again.
whatever, you say,
and touch the button
on your l.l. bean shirt.
those buttons
are sacred, they come
off the uniforms of
brave men who died
in the service of
their country.
you nod, not mentioning
the slavery thing.
i have to run, he says.
i've got a reenactment
this saturday.
i'm going to get shot
at gettysburg. take
a look and tell me
if this looks realistic,
a canonball is going
to hit me in the head.
watch how i fall backwards
and tell me if it's okay.