The bittersweet harmonies of <br />Barber’s song of ruing <br />carry me back two score years <br />to that day I sat intent on the bench - <br />Barber’s accompaniment on the stand. <br /> <br />Ben Walker exploded into the room <br />“Have you heard about the president? ” <br />My blankness answered, <br />“Kennedy's been shot! ” <br />My stiffened fingers lifted from the keys. <br />Dread filled I stammered, <br />“Will he be all right? ” <br />Unable to utter the words, <br />Ben shook his head. <br /> <br />Scenes flicker on our mindscreens <br />like scratched newsreels - <br />tears staining Bernstein’s face, <br />Eroica and Resurrection <br />weeping our televised agony, <br />Oswald doubled over Ruby’s bullets, <br />a toddler's unbearable salute. <br /> <br />Watching motorcade frames <br />repeat in slow motion, <br />we careen on rubber legs: <br />a nation’s heart shattered in Dallas <br /> <br />The somber song plays on: <br />Housemans’s words <br />Joined with Barber’s melodies: <br /> <br />'With Rue my Heart is Laden.' <br /> <br /> <br />April, 2007</I><br /><br />Robert Charles Howard<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/that-dark-november-day/
