He was heading home,
was just outside his door.
"How're you doing, man?"
he asked the person
he thought was a fan.
A shot rang out and
the Ambassador of Peace
was gone.
Crowds gathered in Central Park.
Holding candles, weeping,
they sang Imagine.
Does he walk forever, now,
in strawberry fields?
Imagine if the world
had heard and lived his message:
(War is over if you want it)
found the peace we all desire
and don't know how to have.
Imagine if,
when someone asks
about historical moments,
something besides assassinations,
terror attacks
and wars
would come to mind.
Sigh. Pondering the prompt, half a dozen assassinations - of all my heroes - came to mind, plus 9/11, plus so many many wars.
for Susan at What's Going On: Historical Moments.
Very poignant, Sherry. Yes, imagine indeed! What a great loss!
ReplyDelete"Imagine if the world
ReplyDeletehad heard and lived his message"
Good choice, Sherry, and very good ending. How would we read and remember history if it was about stretches of peace instead of occurrence of war? I think there is actually more peace.
That is a really good idea - remembering stretches of peace!!!!!
DeleteI've always found it easier to remember peacetime history. A time when people could travel to this or that point, when they did or didn't have this or that bit of technology, I could understand, even in primary school...but I didn't memorize what any of the different wars was supposed to have been about before grade four. Just a lot of males, and who wanted to read about them, anyway?
DeleteLet alone a man of Lennon's stature, no one deserves such an indecent death. But human history is full of such incidents. So tragic. sigh.
ReplyDeleteI remember hearing about John Lennon’s death; it was only a few weeks after I gave birth to my daughter in Dublin. I was heartbroken. I like the way you used ‘Imagine’ in repeated lines, Sherry.
ReplyDeleteSherry,
ReplyDeleteSuch sadness when John Lennon was murdered. Unbelievable once I heard the news and remember wishing that it wasn't true...like many others who were concerned with peace and humanity.
Imagining the lyrics and songs we may have known, if only...
Beautifully written and a poignant reflection on the sadness of losing such an important person - Jae
ReplyDeleteJohn Lennon is such an iconic figure. I wish people would take the words of 'Imagine' to heart. Your poem captures the tragedy of his death. His passing left a huge hole. No one seems to have come along to fill the gap although they are so needed now. Suzanne - Wordpress blog 'Wayfaring'.
ReplyDeletePowerful poem about an amazing man so sadly taken from us all. Your poem captures the moment and the loss. Well done.
ReplyDeleteOh Sherry! Oh yes.. just imagine if it had been so...
ReplyDeleteImagine if! Your words ring with passion, Sherry, haunting possibilities. Such a gut-wrenching moment when Lennon was shot and killed, the horror still lingers. His legacy, the legacy of his songs of peace, and all the other peacemakers/dreamers/musicians/poets of the world, still haven't borne peace. That's the horror we have to live with.
ReplyDeleteIt's one of those Moments that no one who was old enough to remember it will ever forget. It seems like only the admirable are cut down in this way, never the Trumps or Hitlers. Why is that?
ReplyDeleteI will never understand it.
DeleteOh but some hated people *are* cut down. Saddam Hussein was. Bin Laden was. Hitler killed himself so nobody else could have the satisfaction, but in any case he died fairly young.
DeleteBut there's an "in this way," when people are murdered...Hitler couldn't have been killed in the same way John Lennon was, because Lennon was missed.