1760-1832
The name of a spy is commodity. The name of a slave was ephemera.
Our lineage of folklore concerns white stars on a blue field.
James Armistead
fought for a freedom that would not be his, for a country that would
not be his, for a union that would not want him in full, would ignore
James Armistead
Washington speaks with slaves’ teeth. Washington spoke with slaves’
teeth to the slave through his troops, through his spy circles.
James Armistead
served the nascent nation as double agent for Lafayette, innocuous as vein,
shadowing soldiers and serving tea, overlooked in his present and ours.
James Armistead
performed practiced deference and fed false intel to that janus Arnold
and stole plans from Lord Charles Cornwallis to seal the siege at Yorktown.
James Armistead
was freed with the Frenchman’s intervention testimonial a decade later.
This new man, now recognized as man, changed his name to own it:
James Armistead Lafayette
We celebrate fife and drum and misinformation, a mythos full of white
stripes waving red between irregular lines, so learn. So know
James Armistead Lafayette
Life, liberty, pursuit of property – espionage stays hidden.
The blood of history spills on us all, so say his name:
Matthew Moniz is a PhD student in poetry at the University of Southern Mississippi. Originally from the DC area, he holds an MFA and MA from McNeese State University and a BA from Notre Dame. Among other journals, Matt’s work has appeared or is forthcoming in Crab Orchard Review and Meridian. He has been awarded the SCMLA Poetry Prize and grown in workshops with Tin House and the Community of Writers.