Ode, A Melbourne. (Translation) . Poem by Michael Walker
Ode, A Melbourne. (Translation) .
(Pour Brentley Frazer) .
quand jfk fut tue d'un coup de fusil
l'histoire etait rechargee
en film, la litterature et la politique-
au passe il semblait comme si sa mort
eut apporte a l'attention
pour la premiere fois le coeur noir
qui devore l'Amerique- et donc hier
a Melbourne, quand nous nous promenions
le long du chemin pont
en passant magasin apres magasin
de mercantillisme decadent
j'ai commence a rappeler jfk
comme si mon coeur aussi fut
represente en scene, assassine encore-
& me rappelant ce qu'il
representait
j'ai jete un coup d'oeil aux environs
et j'ai vu une enseigne McDonald's
qui se trouvait avec justice au-dessus de nous
comme un tireur isole sur le toit.
October 2003.
-'Ode, in Melbourne'.Mark Pirie b.1974. 'Rock& Roll', p.135.
He opens by noting that when jfk was shot, history was re-loaded in the movies and books about the president's life and the assassination. A huge number of books.
This revealed ' The black heart/ that eats America'. A fair comment. Yesterday he walked along Bridge Road with a friend, passing shops 'of decadent commercialism'. Then he started to remember JFK as if his own heart was being 're-enacted, assassinated- once again'; and as he remembers what Kennedy stood for, he glanced around and saw a McDonald's sign ' positioned justifiably above us/ like a sniper on the roof'. This evokes Lee Harvey Oswald of course. It is a superb last line of an understated, evocative poem. The tone is just right.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
Delivering Poems Around The World
Poems are the property of their respective owners. All information has been reproduced here for educational and informational purposes to benefit site visitors, and is provided at no charge...
5/6/2024 1:16:02 AM # 1.0.0.1119
Thanks for presenting the backdrop against which the poem has been written. JFK was a great leader shot dead by an assassin's bullets. It jolted the entire world. I still remember the day.
I agree with you about JFK. He was a hero to me when I was younger. he did not deserve to be killed. No way.