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threadbear
Senior Member
since 2008-07-10
Posts 817
Indy

0 posted 2011-01-07 09:27 PM


The Falling of Six and Three

It was several shades ago, when eyes were cleared
by the constant tears when Mom's stories were told,
of private stories bound in silence.
and the last telling of fairy tales.
We mumbled back our regards, in comfort of her arms
and tried our best to understand.
She was 29 -
we were too young to be counted.

One Fall day in '63 we would carry forever
watching the cold bleed around us
and the crying crystal flakes of lament.

All the acts left undone, righting
the wrongs that rip and strain at America's heart,
asking to be heard
and only a rifle round answered

One lost Dallas day in nineteen-sixty-three
I was six, and you were only three.
Softer than the hands of God, I held you
Quieting heartbeats of a lush hummingbird
for you knew not why you cried.

Our land swelled with agony -
if only someday to rest again
sing lullabies instead of protest songs
and wipe dry eternally damp cheeks
that cannot forget,
struggles to forgive
and lives to remember.


Jeff Feezle 1/2011

(a memory of my sister and I, sitting on a small couch in a tract house in Speedway, Indiana, 1963,
and the frozen look of my Mom sitting across from us as she heard The News that removed a bit of everyone's soul.)

[This message has been edited by threadbear (01-08-2011 12:56 PM).]

© Copyright 2011 Jeff Feezle - All Rights Reserved
Amaryllis
Senior Member
since 2010-05-20
Posts 1306
Mi now
1 posted 2011-01-08 01:24 AM


Oh-so heartfelt, and wrenching, Jeff... you have truly captured the sorrow and bewilderment in this atmospheric poem. Wow...

Amaryllis

nakdthoughts
Member Laureate
since 2000-10-29
Posts 19200
Between the Lines
2 posted 2011-01-08 08:51 AM


strange what our mind can recall and even stranger what it can't


( still can't figure out  fb though I check in there...)

M

threadbear
Senior Member
since 2008-07-10
Posts 817
Indy
3 posted 2011-01-08 12:50 PM


Much obliged, Am, for your warmness, and for your generous responses to others.

Maur, If you need help with fb, give me a shout.  Ain't no biggie.  Thanks for the tea-stop, sweet heart.

This was about a moment where we ALL lost our innocence: current and future, when JFK was shot, and we everyone had the pangs of losing a father.
Jeff

Martie
Moderator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-09-21
Posts 28049
California
4 posted 2011-01-08 12:56 PM


Hello Jeff...sometimes it's not the reason for the memory that stays in the imagery of the heart, but the pieces of feeling caught within time.  I am touched by these words.  Wishing you well, my friend.
threadbear
Senior Member
since 2008-07-10
Posts 817
Indy
5 posted 2011-01-08 01:02 PM


It' wouldn't be a New Year without wishing my ol' Martie friend a good one!  Our styles are connected, I think, sometimes.  You are so right about caught in between time:  a moment in time where, regardless of age, we are in pivotal time: believing in something so strongly, and watching it removed from our sight forever.  I don't know which I miss more:  JFK's chance to be great, or the lost of innocence of America upon that fateful day of Nov. 22, 1963 in Dallas.  Why did he choose a convertible?  I'll never understand.
May your pen never be dry, Martie,
Jeff

latearrival
Member Ascendant
since 2003-03-21
Posts 5499
Florida
6 posted 2011-01-08 01:10 PM


Very Touching because I too remember that day.He had been riding down a local street in New Haven CT. one day before going to Texas.Standing and waving in that white convertible.I wondered as I held my small camera up over the heads of the crowds why he choose to go next to Texas.I had an odd feeling because there had been some unrest in Texas about that time.I do not remember what was being said but It caused me to     wonder~~~  very good story.It touched me. latearrival
threadbear
Senior Member
since 2008-07-10
Posts 817
Indy
7 posted 2011-01-08 01:24 PM


Thank you, LA, for your shared story.  One of those defining moments, where we as a Republic either grew up, or grew jaded or both.  So many warnings were given to him about Dallas, but he wanted to appear strong and visible in LBJ's home state.  Some mistakes are irrevocable.
Take care, La,
Jeff

steavenr
Member Elite
since 2003-11-17
Posts 4058

8 posted 2011-01-08 02:20 PM


thank you for sharing this touching write...those of us who recall this, relate...there is a very cool line in this that bears mentioning: "the crying crystal flakes of lament"...so powerful and so descriptive
threadbear
Senior Member
since 2008-07-10
Posts 817
Indy
9 posted 2011-01-08 02:24 PM


Thank you, Steven, for your empathy toward others.  The spirit of love may someday overcome.  Where there is love
there is hope.
Jeff

[This message has been edited by threadbear (01-09-2011 12:05 AM).]

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