Ode to Mary Jo

[saw]

Daddy was ashamed
of her, the slight
genetic mutation, he
complained to his trusted
family doctor
of his daughter's sudden
interest in boys and Daddy
knew she was no John,
no Bobby,
so the lobotomy was done.
Joe greased the scalpel hand,
never bothered to discuss
his decision with the rest
of the family, and she lived
a long simple life in the remote
Wisconsin countryside.
Sister Eunice founded
Special Olympics in her honor,
as if to tell the world, some people
are just born this way, and
poor poor Rosemary would live
for eighty six years never watching
the evening news, never blowing out
family birthday candles, but soon
after her departure from this cruel world,
once inside the rusty gates
of an alternative universe she would
befriend a young woman named Mary Jo,
and poor Rosemary would become
the only soul to ever learn
those pitch black secrets of that night
at Chappaquiddick.

[stilltrucking]

who the hell would be fool enough to try and reply to that
nevermind

stunning

[the mingo]

ok...this is the icing on everything here this morning...I'm done...I ain't reading another thing...Creative Writing this morning was a rather tame & deceptive description of a street full of lawless poets with every gun blazing in every conceivable direction and the mingo is heading for cover...Saw, thanks for the piece & a half here, it was *Sparkle on the Monkey Train* through & through.

[Lightning Rod]

saw,
this is beautifully done
here's my only objection: It has a tabloid quality. I can appreciate the value of historical background, it's like writing about mythological characters when you mention the Kennedy clan. I wrote a mock first hand account of the JFK assassination one time in a creative writing workshop. The paper came back with this comment written in red pen: "Trite subject"

But I don't think your piece is trite, just a bit sensational.

[saw]

thanx, stilltrucking....much obliged, and

mingo, appreciate the feedback...always happy to hitch a ride
on the Monkey Train....

LRod, thanx......I know what you mean about the Kennedys being
a big fish to fry.....I found the story of Rosemary Kennedy to be
compelling, if just for that fact that it's never talked about, and as you say, it would be tricky to limit the poem to just facts, which is why
I had it culminate in fantasy....I just couldn't resist the notion that
somewhere on the other side, Rosemary would meet Mary Jo and
they would share their stories....

[Lightning Rod]

yes, saw
that was the trick that saved this piece
I'm just gun shy about this subject
because it can get hackneyed
you got more guts than I do

good work, you found a novel angle

[constantine]

you are a poet with a conscience. i've read a ton of your work, and you never lose sight of of the oppressed. when they have the big round up, i'll share my bread with you in the gulag, brother steve.

[Doreen Peri]

I recognized the names John, Bobby, Eunice, Joe... the reference to Chappaquiddick of course.... So it was pretty clear that it was about the Kennedy family.... I'm not sure who Mary Jo is.... Is she the lady who died in the car accident?

I didn't get the genetic mutation part and the lobotomy reference. I suspect I'm missing a whole lot.

The concept of learning about what really happened after death is a good one.

[Odette]

excellent. bang on.

[hester_prynne]

Indeed, stunning
H

[saw]

thanks a million, Hester, Odette.....

Dino, a special thanks to you for your kind words, It would be an
honor to break bread with you, on this side or the other....

Doreen....yes Mary Jo Kopechne was the young woman that drowned
in Ted Kennedy's car....Rosemary Kennedy was the sister of John, Bobby, etc. who was given a lobotomy ordered by her father Joe.
She had a mild genetic defect that became a problem for Joe Kennedy when he considered that with her new attraction to the opposite sex, she could not be having any babies that would carry the Kennedy name....so he conspired with a doctor who was a family friend, without
any discussions with his wife or any other family member apparently,
and had her lobotomized and sent to live in an institution in Wisconsin
where she was for the most part forgotten.....As I said in an earlier post, I liked the idea of Mary Jo and Rosemary meeting.....