Myrix Josiah Williams
Myrix Josiah Williams, tall, aloof.
Welsh Merricks and Williames, stand behind.
Tiny Glencoe, K Y offered proof,
Smallest anchor, the largest bark would bind.
Legislator, long Magistracy post,
Large crops, grand home, the finest riding horse.
Leisured breakfast; he read the Journal close.
Life warranted, sustained by slaves, of course.
Three wives, ten children, Grand Masonic rank.
Admired greatly, Myrix, by many men.
His eminence increased before it sank.
Took sides against his country; didn't win.
Acknowledge ancestry with due respect.
But proffer admiration circumspect.
Copyright 2011, Richard Baldwin Cook
This sonnet appears in SPLENDID LIVES and OTHERWISE: Sonnets of Remembrance (Nativa LLC 2011) available at Lulu.com
Written in 2011: Myrix Williams, great grandfather X 3, was born two hundred years ago this year. A Mason, magistrate, legislator, slave-owner, husband of three (widowed twice - his first wife was great grandmother X 3, Junietta Gouge) - Myrix was tall, horse-faced, a no-nonsense dude, who believed in self-restraint and in everyone else doing his biding.
Happy Birthday Myrix.
We are glad for your life but not for all of the values you brought to it. |
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