and a Very Unusual Week

The Night It All Began

Posted by on Apr 18, 2026 in American History, and a Very Unusual Week | 0 comments

Two hundred and fifty-one years ago today, a stable boy tore through the streets of Boston to bring a warning to Paul Revere. We don’t know the boy’s name or exactly what he said, but he was one of many who helped set a midnight ride into motion and set the stage for a brand-new country to arise.

When Paul Revere Rode tells the story of that night, and the very first poem in the book tells the story of that stable boy:

The patter of hooves
like the roll of a drum
like the thump of a heart
like a fist of the door

A good horse will run
like speed is his soul
and wind is an enemy
he can defeat

That’s how I run
through the alleys of Boston
cobble and brick
a track for my feet
to burst in the door
to be first with the news
for time is an enemy
speed can defeat:

The soldiers!
The Regulars!
They’re on the march!

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