Kennedy

Around the shadowed corner, wicked lies,

Through telescopic lens and focussed eyes.

The autumn trees encapsulate the path

And crunch beneath the wheels they idolise.

The building crowds descend before the knoll

To catch a glimpse of this passing idol.

He, showered from all sides with the applause

And peppered from above by seasons fall.

Idyllic is this scene to which he greets,

As smiling faces line the city streets

But soon the smiles will fade in disarray

Through murderous intentions indiscreet.

The polished carriage turns the corner slow

Whilst soaking up the rapture in its flow

And then it steadies to a deathly crawl,

Allowing three their targeting to hone.

And as the open casket slows its pace

A crack of rifle fire fills the place.

But drowned by cheering crowds that do not see

The terror on the now condemned man’s face.

His wife, confused, knows not quite what to do,

Attends the man she’s loved since ‘52,

But with a further crack, the bullet falls

And splits her only love at once in two.

Her screaming filled that plaza, flecked with hate

But few were yet aware of this man’s fate,

She falls onto the metal painted black

And scrambles to retrieve her husbands’ traits.

Not two, nor three but four times they have won,

As autumn leaves fall drunk to winters sun.

The cheers begin to give way to the screams

For now they see their idol is undone.

And all the while the cowards sit up high,

Watching with sheer gladness at him die

But soon the grandest act is to begin,

As conspirators set the greatest lie.

And like a virus, this is quickly spread

As nations demand justice for their dead

But all the while his woman holds his hand

And mourns her shattered love upon the bed.

Copyright © 2012 by Simon Austin

 Jacqueline and John F. Kennedy

  

John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th President of the UnitedStates, was assassinated at 12:30pm Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dealey Plaza,Dallas, Texas.  Kennedy was fatally shotwhile travelling with his wife Jacqueline. The ten-month investigation by the Warren Commission concluded thatKennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald acting alone and that Jack Rubyacted alone when he killed Oswald before he could stand trial. The Commission'sconclusions were initially supported by a majority of the American public.However, polls conducted from 1966 to 2004 found that as many as 80 percent ofAmericans have suspected that there was a plot or cover-up.

Contrary to the Warren Commission, the United StatesHouse Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) concluded that Kennedy wasprobably assassinated as a result of a conspiracy. The HSCA found both theoriginal FBI investigation and the Warren Commission Report to be seriouslyflawed. While agreeing with the Commission that Oswald fired all the shotswhich caused the wounds to Kennedy and Connally, the HSCA stated that therewere at least four shots fired and that there was "...a high probabilitythat two gunmen fired at [the] President."

Kennedy's assassination is still the subject ofwidespread debate and has spawned numerous conspiracy theories and alternativescenarios.