TO A SLAVE BURIED BESIDE UNION SOLDIERS
IN ARLINGTON CEMETERY IN 1864
WHOSE TOMBSTONE READS ONLY “WASH ‘N TOIL”
Beneath the ground of Arlington you lie
With heroes on all sides; a nameless slave
Whose weathered stone
Bespeaks our common fate.
Beside you decompose the great men
Of our land, alone, like you unsaved
Despite the strength that once
Had flowed within their veins.
It is only fair that you who had
Endured our country’s evil
Should buried be with those
Who served her better soul.
For if we aren’t whole
When we are grieved,
Then tide of time must
Wash away the hope that stirs,
And leave the future dust.
Heroes, cowards, slaves, we died;
It mattered not, for we will
Equal be when buried each
Within his separate plot.
What more is there to say to you
Beneath Virginia’s soil,
Except “Farewell, G‑d grant you peace,
And no more wash and toil.”
- Finding the Light of G‑d, page 119