WEBVTT

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A lot of this book attempts to
navigate history as rewritten,

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as mythologies similar to how
Homer wrote the "Iliad" 400

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years after the Trojan War.

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But it looks at more
contemporary moments.

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In this poem looks at a
moment, an infamous moment,

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that occurred in
1963 in this country.

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"Of The Icing."

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We made it baby.

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We're riding in the back
of the black limousine.

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They have lined the
road to shout our names.

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They have faith in your golden
hair and pressed gray suit.

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They have a good citizen in me.

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I love my country.

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I pretend nothing is wrong.

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I pretend not to see the man
and his blond daughter diving

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for cover, that you're
not saying my name

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and it's not coming out
like a slaughterhouse.

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I'm not Jackie O. yet.

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And there isn't a
hole in your head.

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A brief rainbow
through a mist of rust.

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I love my country,
but who am I kidding?

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I'm holding your still
hot thoughts in, darling.

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My sweet, sweet, Jack.

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I'm reaching across the trunk
for a shard of your memory.

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The one where we kiss
and the nation glitters.

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You're slumped back,
your hand letting go,

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you're all over the seat, now
deepening my fuchsia dress.

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But I'm a good
citizen surrounded

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by Jesus and ambulances.

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I love this country, the twisted
faces my country, the blue sky,

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black limousine, my one
white glove glistening pink

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with all our American dreams.

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