Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Mr. Fred's Poetry Corner: 1968 Part Two

Things settled down for me, but politics heated up,
I saw Bobby Kennedy in a college classroom,
Preaching to the converted, I liked him,
Practicing for the coming presidential season,
As it turned out, the calm before the storm.


We waited for the weather to clear.
When spring arrived, the real fun started,
Somebody, nobody is really sure,
Somebody, a good shot, gave the gift
Of Martyrdom to Martin Luther King.
Lots of people took the news very poorly,
Lots of acting out, frustrations pouring forth,
Condemnations flying in all directions,
It’s not so hard to understand,
Anguish, despair, and recriminations
Such as Law and Order,
Election-speak for “those people . . .”
Two birds with one stone,
One less thorn in the side of the power,
And one good election issue for people that vote,
The wrong people, as it happened.


Down South in Dixie
Came the first in a string of
Gratuitous massacres of university students,
The unmitigated gall, they wanted to go bowling,
Black, of course, the test case, hardly anyone noticed.

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