IF

A Ballad to the ongoing Tragedy which is the Kennedys, written upon learning of John, Jr.'s death. If refers to the hope John the Elder (the King of If) infused us with, nigh-on fifty years ago.

IF

The King of If
Set sail one day
In a great, black skiff,
Bears and Dragons to slay,

But the Skiff went aground
With a sickening sound,

And the King of If�.FLEW AWAY!

So the Queen of If
Took her charges in hand
And bustled them off
To a distant land.

Magnificent courtiers they became,
But the voice of God soon called her Name

And the Queen of If�.FLEW AWAY!

Now they, Prince and Princess,
These courtiers twain
With their Mother's Wisdom
And their Father's Flame

Well-versed in love of,
And love for Man,
Make each their own If
As best as they can.

But alas one day,
The Prince of If
Took to the sky
In a Winged Skiff

With two Golden Swans, for If to fly
Nor may we ask, or soon know why

That the Prince of If�.FLEW AWAY.

And now our Princess,
Her heart bereft
Perhaps feels her Soul
On Shoal's been left.

Though she must awhile in Heart's grief tarry,
Can she believe that her pain we'll help carry

'Til the ache in her Heart�FLIES AWAY?

The Lord of If-land,
Though Stern of Face
Will, with tender Hand
Guide her to a place

Of healing waters, Where no Skiff grounds
And clean her tears, 'til hope rebounds,

And the Ache in her Heart�.FLIES AWAY!

June 22, 1999

Reviews

[Tate Morgan]

Thankfully i know the nexus of this poem and so can rightly measure its sway.I would like it if all your poems had authors notes I have not been so lucky in the past .I am not good at abstract But Ill say this. the Kennedy's were a family of over achievers .but they dreamed big indeed.The difference with them was that they were able to produce these miracles.they made us feel good about being Americans.We held our heads higher .Who wouldn't love Jackie? What a regal presence she was.When he was killed adults cried like children and children feared the night. I hope I never see another day that hurt s our people that much.His loss crushed the hopes and dreams of millions of people and started the dark times that followed.How we manged to get through it alive is beyond me.I dont see us ever being that good again.it feels like the guy who peaks at 18 in the Olympics and the rest of his life is downhill to death

[KAREN]

A sad thing that happened, but a poem that has bought some rememberance of the kennedy's. excellent write and very interesting!

[Ellen Hammond]

Wow! I don't know how I missed this, but I am so glad you mentioned it in your review of my poem. This is an amazing write. You have turned the Kennedy tragedies into a an inspiring write of compassion and hope. I like the fairytale format created with you metaphors. Very well written, my friend!

[Seriana]

Wow, I'm not a huge fan of the Kennedy's, but the way you told this was like a fairytale story. Beautiful Mark. Thank you for sharing.

[Jeddie]

Its really stunning its like a magical tale and its rhyme flows so naturally

An actual pleasure

[Voice]

Beautiful�I so much loved this poem. it kind of reminded me of a fairy tale but it added real life and the way the world truly works into the mix. Though there are hardships in life like this poem clearly shows there is also a hope for the future to bring wonderful things...

"The Lord of If-land,
Though Stern of Face
Will, with tender Hand
Guide her to a place

Of healing waters, Where no Skiff grounds
And clean her tears, 'til hope rebounds,

And the Ache in her Heart....FLIES AWAY!"

Inspiring write my friend...

Voice

[Rick Puetter]

Dear Mark,

This is a very interesting write with a bit of the whimsical mixed with the serious in intriguing proportions. I enjoyed the write tremendously. Well done.

And I enjoyed the continuing disappearances of each of the persons in the poem. Of course this is the way it is in life. So a very nice parallel.

Kind regards,

Rick