A Poem.....
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| John, Bobby and Teddy Kennedy |
It has always been my belief that the so-called "Kennedy Legend" was never complete unless it included two major themes. The first being the poignant connection it had with the mind-set of the youth in the 1960's. Secondly, the extreme fascination we all shared regarding the Kennedy heritage based in Ireland.
And now, 50 years after the assassination of this interesting and complicated man by the name of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, we are still talking and writing about him as though this horrific deed transpired yesterday......
Of course, being the 35th President of the United States and having been taken away from all of us so brutally has much to do with this feeling of major loss and our nation's history both woven together to create and retain emotions so strong that time cannot dilute them. Having just turned thirteen, weeks before this event, the approaching anniversary of his death reminds me of what I was feeling that day, as it does for so many of us across this country, in Ireland and around the world.
Having lived through the Amazing '60's, and they truly were for so many reasons, I felt compelled to add one more poem....idea....memory and reflection of that decade to pass here, from me to you. And, I can't help but think of how different our nation's history might have been written had the bullets of Oswald's rifle not succeeded in their fatal mission on that beautiful day in Dallas, Texas. Would there have been the absurd war in Vietnam? Would our thoughts about life and change been less radical, more productive? Would we have had the opportunity to experience a kinder, gentler nation? So many questions left unfulfilled.
Too Soon?
We grew up too fast,
Because we had to with
The world nipping at our heals,
And circumstances aging our souls....
Jimmy, Janis and Otis, too soon?
Drugs, booze, happenstance....
Vietnam, unknown and brutal,
Turned out to be reality!
Enfold us within your multi-colored robe
But, call it like it is.
Free Love, Drugs, Rock and Roll, War;
Our birthrights of this decade?
We didn't always listen well,
Nobody taught us how.
We picked-up on the examples given
And knew there was a better way....
Let's beat the system before it beats us....
Right into the ground!
Jack, Bobby and Martin, too soon?
Perhaps they did have some of
The answers we sought....
Unfortunately, hate erased their longevity,
But never their Spirit.
Jacqueline E. Hughes ~ November 22, 2013
