Dusky Day In Dallas Poem

On 21-22 November,1963, President John F. Kennedy
and Jackie stayed at the Hotel Texas, Fort Worth.
There was morning drizzle when JFK went outside
to give a short speech; there was sunlight.

Inside the hotel there was a warm welcome
given by the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce.
The confident MC offered JFK a stetson there,
which he accepted, smiling, but would not wear.

John F. Kennedy gave a witty but uplifting speech:
‘No one expects that our life will be easy;
certainly not in this decade, maybe not in this century.
I will resist nuclear war and preserve world peace.’

The President boarded Air Force One at Carswell,
touching down at 11: 40 am at Love Field, Dallas.
There were crowds along the fence-line, holding up
pro- and- anti-JFK signs, ambivalence in the air.

At midday I saw President Kennedy get into the back seat
of a Lincoln Convertible, without the bulletproof bubbletop.
I saw large, enthusiastic crowds on both sides of Main Street,
but fewer by Houston Street and Elm Street: I was there.

There were just a few spectators on the grassy knoll,
when the Hertz digital clock ticked over to 12: 30 pm.
Right then I heard the first gunshot from the rear,
then two more rapid-fire shots that ended a dream.

I found the speech that the President had for the Trade Mart:
”We in this country, in this generation, are- by destiny
rather than choice-the watchmen on the walls of world freedom.
..”For as was written long ago, ‘ except the Lord keep the city,
‘the watchman waketh but in vain’.’ ”