Woman No Cry

50 Years Since JFK Assassination

In the 2nd grade

a puppy love

crush on the

teacher steeped

deep in me

to my delight

her clear eyes 

recognized a

chubby boy

in all of his

quaint simplicity

her gentle

voice, friendly

and firm, filled

with caring instruction

the giddy class

attuned to her fresh 

brunette bouffant, bunned

and perfectly coiffed,

speaking style and

youthful whimsy,

not a strand of hair

out of place

her svelte figure

flowed through

classroom isles

filling the space

with scented graces

of prescient carnations

that afternoon she

was abruptly called

from the class

when she returned

our beautiful princess

was sobbing

she concealed her face

then turned her back

on the class, crying

in a corner to the dismay

of blushing blackboards

regaining composure

she turned

exposing her tear

stained cheeks

and dissheveled hair

to an unsettled class

“the President

hurt his back” she

announced.  “He’s

in the hospital.”

Whoa… I thought,

the President hurt

his back.  That's

really serious

I surmised.

our beloved teacher

dismissed us

and resumed her

tearful grief

when I arrived home

my mother was

sitting on the bed

weeping.  “President

Kennedy is dead”

she blared.

my mother’s rumpled

housecoat and

tousled hair flattered

her flowing tears and

anguished sobs.

the tears of women

marked the end 

of many puppy loves that day

Bob Marley & The Wailers

No Woman No Cry

Oakland

10/15/13

jbm

Reviews

[Karen]

I too like the storytelling aspect of this poem particularly because it gives readers a sense of time and experience from a child's perspective rather than the political intrigue of adults during a time of shock and sadness. This poem expresses the way a significant historical event affected the innocence of a child. Beautifully expressed!

[riskrapper]

thank you Karen... as the 50th anniversary of the event creeps closer we'll be inundated with remembrances and recollections of that day... thank you for your kind words...

[SHEEMA HUQ]

As far as story telling goes, this is a great composition, engaging from the beginning until the end, it is nice how your have given context to the famous song by Bob Marley, a favourite.

[riskrapper]

Dear Sheema.... thank you for your kind words... lots of women loved the Kennedy mystique... all of America had a puppy love affection for him.... the cold bullet of reality murdered that infatuation.... as we tramped further into Vietnam... watergate.... the discombobulated 60's...