STILL HAUNTED (DALLAS ‘99)
The cheering crowd three dozen years
Ago’s no longer there,
But, as I watch, their ghosts appear
And toward the limo stare.
A sunny noon in late November
Nineteen sixty-three;
A lady dressed in pink remembered
Waving happily.
The honoree next to his wife,
The Man whom crowd adores.
Except for One who aims his rifle
From that upper floor.
With second shot, Man clutches throat.
With third, explodes his head.
Dumbfounded crowd runs to and fro,
Pink dress now splattered red.
Though covered now’s the Grassy Knoll
Where Abe Zapruder stood,
His haunting frames forever roll
And curse this neighborhood.
Now fully grown the trees; the marble
Monuments now stand.
Depository’s windows are
Now touched by children’s hands.
But permanent the images
So tragically impressed
Upon the spatial fabric which
Was temporally meshed.
Like Roman soldiers marching through
A forest’s ancient paths,
These phantoms may appear anew
Though centuries have passed.
Once memories have long forgotten
What transpired when,
These ghosts of tragedy begotten
Will remind again.
(published in POETIC VOICES, September 2000;
DANA LITERARY SOCIETY ONLINE JOURNAL, November 2002)
Author Bio:
I am a Professional Engineer who has been writing poetry since 1990. I am an incorrigible rhymer, tending toward the skeptical/cynical regarding daily life. I have been fortunate to have been published in poetry magazines and on-line journals such as NUTHOUSE, MOTHER EARTH INTERNATIONAL, FEELINGS/POETS’ PAPER, MÖBIUS (when Jean Hull Herman published), PABLO LENNIS, MUSE OF FIRE, SO YOUNG!, THE AARDVARK ADVENTURER, POETIC LICENSE, THUMBPRINTS, UNLIKELY STORIES, BIBLIOPHILOS, FULLOSIA PRESS, NOMAD’S CHOIR, HIDDEN OAK, PABLO LENNIS, POETSESPRESSO, SOUL FOUNTAIN, WRITER’S JOURNAL, ATLANTIC PACIFIC PRESS, DERONDA REVIEW, LYRIC, THE STORYTELLER, WRITE ON! and DANA LITERARY SOCIETY.