*jasper Moses Poem by C R Clark

Along the banks of Cyprus Creek
Where panthers prowl and “gators” creep
The murky water fairly teems
With cottonmouths and Cyprus knees
An unsuspecting soul could drown
Or lose their way and ne’er be found
‘Twas here beneath the Spanish moss
A young man came to mourn his loss

Young Jasper Moses had it made
Family wealth and growing trade
The son of southern nobility
Courtly Belles, his love would seek
Local Fathers would scheme and plan
To wed their daughters to such a man
But, Jasper cared for none of these
For, his heart belonged to Bonita Lee

Bonita lived in an outcast thorp
Where most that dwelt were of ill report
Her “Pap, ” well known for crime and vice
A blackguard who’d sell his own for a price
But Bonita’s heart was young and pure
Uncommon beauty and peerless allure
A Creole maiden of mien so fair
Chestnut skin and long raven hair

But, Jasper’s parents despised the girl
They felt that she was beneath their world
Their haughty souls, so swelled with pride
With the girls own “Pap” they soon conspired
To compel his daughter by command or force
And take her away from the outcast thorp
They reasoned their son would repent his spree
And forget the lowborn Bonita Lee

By night the blackguard, Nathaniel Lee
Bound his daughter hand and feet
And bribed a mate on a fishing boat
To hold her there till it reached the coast
But, Bonita’s will was fierce and strong
Until, at last, she loosed her bonds
Up on the deck she ran in haste
She longed to see her lover’s face

The sailors on the craft that night
Said she dove from the deck forthright
Into the darkness of Cyprus creek
And struck her head on a shallow reef
Her body was placed on the cold hard deck
The wrong, confessed by a penitent mate
The captain steered the ship to port
And returned the girl to the outcast thorp

When the tragic news to Jasper came
He vowed, I’ll never be the same
My heart will only faintly beat
My spirit shall forever weep
And though my life continues now
I never shall, my self allow
To give my heart to love so free
As I loved my darling, Bonita Lee

His parents feigned, his grief to ease
And sought to conceal their treachery
But, the truth, young Jasper learned that day
Revealed to him by the Captain’s mate
To them he said, no love abides
In hearts that shelter willful lies
Your Son will covet your love no more
And ne’er again will approach your door

Your callous act has broken me
You’ve taken my darling, Bonita Lee
You’ve doomed me to a life forlorn
I rue the day that I was born
Your greatest desire you shall not know
The joy of a grandchild, all your own
Your contemptuous line will end with me
For taking my darling, Bonita Lee

Along the banks of Cyprus Creek
Where panthers prowl and “gators” creep
The murky water fairly teems
With cottonmouths and Cyprus knees
‘Twas here beneath the Spanish moss
Young Jasper came to mourn his loss
Into the murky swamp that day
He tossed his hat and walked away


Searchers came down Cyprus creek
And combed the swamp for near a week
But all they ever found of him
His hat lodged on a Cyprus limb
Where gator tracks were fresh and dense
They felt ‘twas only common sense
This day to end their futile quest
And declare he’d met untimely death

In Cyprus swamp, still to this day
A ghostly presence, the locals say
On moonlit nights may oft be seen
Drifting on the slightest breeze
A Creole maiden with raven hair
Weeps and calls her lover, where
A statement carved upon a tree
Says, “Jasper loves Bonita Lee”