Embedded Files
Strong and Mighty is Lettuce Bailey
Strong and Mighty is Lettuce Bailey
by Caleb B.
Lettuce, her name, was born in ‘65
Late 1700s was her life,
Worked and tired like a fierce lion, but Lettuce went on,
A wise woman who was tough and strong,
Reverend Todd the enslaver was he,
He eventually let them all free,
All 6 strong hopes were back,
This will help them get on track,
Reverend Todd dying in 91’,
Their new enslaver knew what had to be done,
With a new rule in the next year,
Money was saved from there to here,
Lettuce freed twice was very wrong,
This is why we must sing her song,
Moving to the Almshouse is where she went,
That is where the rest of her life was spent,
Most likely weaving was her job,
Hopefully she did not sob,
Tamar, her mother, died in 1816,
Hope she was peacefully seen,
Owning a cow shows that Lettuce might have been a farmer,
Her mind was then probably sharper,
Married to Cesar Bailey,
Maybe they were happy daily,
Seeing sadness and sorting things out,
This is why we must go about,
Sadly leaving the world in 1820,
We will never forget Lettuce Bailey.
Walking by a Stone on a Summer Day
Walking by a Stone on a Summer Day
Strolling through the park on a summer day,
Madison, Connecticut. Great little town, lots of history.
July, an extraordinary month to take walks.
I walked, then, I noticed:
Diamond? Gold? The bright light shining
as the sun beamed happily onto the block.
No. It was none of these things.
It was a small bronze square,
With a name imprinted on the front.
‘Lettuce,’ ‘Weaver and Mother,’
Lettuce? Who is she?
I read more and as I did, I found out that she was freed twice.
Twice!
Once in 1791 and once in 1793.
During that time period there were slaves and,
it says she was freed.
I wonder… I said to myself,
as I began to walk.
I wonder what life was like,
Enslaved amongst individuals.
Life during that time period.
Hard-working and tired they must have been.
Accomplished great things, yet,
Lettuce was never even recognized.
She must have been called terrible things.
“Pets of them all.”
Dehumanized and looked down upon.
As I got in my car and drove away,
I will always remember what I saw that day.
A stone to remember each person who lived each day and hoping better for tomorrow.
The wind howled that night because of the terrible storm that shrieked.
But I could still think that maybe,
Just maybe, one day we will get a stone for everyone who lived, fought, and sought out a better future.
Author’s Statement:
Within my poems, I hope that the audience who reads them understands the meaning behind slavery and about Lettuce’s life (the enslaved person we were researching). Slavery was a wrong act and this is something that hopefully does not repeat itself. Any race, any color, size, shape, we are all equal. In my poems, I used imagery to make anyone who reads it visualize what happened during the late 1700s. Lettuce was mistreated and it was unfair. Now, 200 years after her death, we are recognizing this hard working and determined woman because she deserves to be known. Hopefully people will feel for Lettuce and every other enslaved person, and will carry this thought throughout the rest of their lives and work to restore other people's stories. During history, we are studying the Civil War and learning all about how every slave fought and deserved freedom. Using this knowledge, I was able to tie it into my poems and create the emotion of the speaker. The challenging part of this work was that there were a lot of holes and missing information. You can take this obstacle and create a story off of the missing spots. Even with these missing holes, we were able to recognize that slavery was incorrect and it should never be repeated.
Caleb's artwork depicts the First Congregational Church of Madison, where Rev. Jonathan Todd served as minister in the 18th century, freeing Lettuce and her family on his deathbed in 1791. The words reflect a banner that currently hangs over the church.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse