Thirty-four years ago today

A dark tragedy was played

Out - which quite consumed

A generation it made blue



A good young man who at 43

Won an election and came to be

President of these United States

Then three years later - met his fate



On this day in history he became

The target of assassins trained

To take out heads of state all over

They accomplished this - in clover



And thus affected the lives of all

The people & children still in school

Who then went on to find completion

But some of us it hit so hard - this treason



We were unable to deal effectively

With the world at large because of the

Paranoia the murder established in us

Never knowing when we'd get hit by bus



Or some other form of wheels or fire

So many of us have since expired

The domino effect has worked its way

Through the legions who had their day



And we were all asked to accept findings

Which were so abstract, we were blinded

It's better not to question, they all said ...

But some of us had feet filled with lead



All that's known today is more rehashing

Of the ideas which came to us then stashing

Us full of lone conspirators and pristine bullets

Theories as difficult to swallow now as was felt



Way back then when we were so young and naive

So many of us swallowed hard but weren't pleased

And so many times since, we've gone over this day

When will the truth ever come out so we can allay



Our fears forever of corruption in so very high places

Which underlies the belly of so many nations' paces

Forward into a Utopian world where all is free and easy

Knowing it can be done keeps me going for it relieves me



To think we can have heaven on earth now in our time

Is something I dwell on, and have done since my prime

- Those days which I lived through in the mid sixties

When again and again bullets cut down good men

                                                        without victory

                                            

Christopher W. Thomas

1:11pm Saturday 11/22/97