The Ballad Of Jack Ruby

By Malcholm Dark

Sanity forgotten...

I have long lived my life the simple man
Remained true to the rules, stood by my plan.
And was always fulfilled living that way
Oh how things changed on that November day.

Oswald was wicked, never played with the band
He could never adjust or blend like the sand.
An evil inside poured out from his heart
He loved what he was from the very start.

Sanity forgotten, waste not your breath
Blinded by hatred, a need for his death.
Sanity forgotten, our country in dismay
Who in this world could ever murder JFK?

The rest is well told, we have all heard the story
Bullets rained down from the book depository.
Kennedy lay dead, a policeman was shot too
A governor wounded, they could have been you!

This pain was immense, my heart gave a sign
I took up my gun and crossed over that line.
To the county jail, within that Dallas town
I unleashed my hatred and gunned Oswald down!

Sanity forgotten, waste not your breath
Blinded by hatred, a need for his death.
Sanity forgotten, our country in dismay
Because I killed the man who killed JFK!

It was never revealed, the true intention
A Mafia hit or Government intervention.
Two things were certain that day in Dallas
John was murdered and I killed with malice!

Sanity forgotten...

Unauthorized Copying Is Prohibited. Ask the author first.

Published on Monday, May 3, 2010. Filed under: "Tribute" and "Poetry"

Awards

May 21st, 2017

Comments on "The Ballad Of Jack Ruby"

On Friday, May 21, 2010, jonLyndon (113) wrote:

Love the subject context. Jack Ruby, deserving of this ballad; I can hear Bob Dylan singing this one. Or Johnny Cash; maybe Sisters of Mercy. Anyway, "sanity forgotten" love the repetitiveness of these words, like a mantra, like a song. So close to being flawless w/ your meter. So close. "book depository" I'd simply drop 'book', as you say, "we have all heard the story". The meter works better, I think. Final line in the penultimate stanza; I'd change 'murdered' & repeat the word 'killed'; the meter becomes tighter & the strength of the meaning becomes more powerful. Killed is stronger than Murder, in sound, even though they are both the same. Killed! Killed! Like the multiple bullet shots (3 different directions, I believe is the conspiracy theory?) but you don't need to use a 3rd. In that line the repetitive nature of that one word repeated brings out in the sub- the ring of the shots! I wish I could think of a perfect word to rhyme w/ Texas 'cause even though JFK was shot in Dallas, TX the world thinks on it as the state first, then country, then world. But 'malice' does not rhyme w/ Texas. 'I killed what affects us', a bit off. In the same line I'd like to see "murdered" changed to "shot" for emphasis but then yer 1 beat off; & like the above I'd this time change 'killed' to repeat 'shot!" Shot! Shot! like Bang! Bang! "John K. was shot..."? Your poem, I hope you don't mind my insight. It's a very clever piece, not as tight as I think you'd like, but that does not ruin the poem. Also, I'd change Mafia to Mob just to make those 2 lines a bit tighter. It's 11/13 as it stands. Mob makes it 11/11; either way these lines are a mouthful - say them out loud. Still, "sanity forgotten...". Well done!
On Wednesday, May 5, 2010, theXkevorkian (64) wrote:

Excellent , great piece my friend ...... I especially loved the the whole thing I tried to pick my favorite stanza but the whole piece kicks ass ........ Write On :)
On Wednesday, May 5, 2010, Wiccad (124) wrote:

I bet no one ever thought to write about this in quite this way. MD you're the man.
On Monday, May 3, 2010, Miztaken4beauty (176) wrote:

One day, I'm going to invite you over, and you'll be telling me bedtime stories. =)
On Monday, May 3, 2010, Rowan (197) wrote:

What a fine tale Malcholm! You inspire me. What a great re-telling of a day that shook the world to its core.
On Monday, May 3, 2010, lupus tenebrae (860) wrote:

Excellent as usual Dark, truly an unforgettable day that shall live in infamy. You captured perfectly what must have been in Jack's mind, justice at the end of a barrel. This also just further reminded me of all those conspiracy theories, including that JFK was an alien lol, well done my friend.