The last poem that I'll read from this sequence--
title of it is "The Assassination
of John Lennon as Depicted by the Madame Tussaud Wax Museum,
Niagara Falls, Ontario, 1987."
"Smuggled human hair from Mexico falls
radiant around the waxy O of her scream.
Shades on, leather coat and pants, Yoko on her knees,
like the famous Kent State photo,
where the girl can't shriek her boyfriend alive,
her arms wind-milling Ohio sky--
a pump in John's chest heaves to mimic death throes.
The blood is made of latex.
His glasses broken on the plastic sidewalk.
A scowling David Chapman--
his arms outstretched, his pistol barrel
spiraling fake smoke and a siren's red wash
completes the composition.
And somewhere background music plays Imagine,
before the tableau darkens.
We push a button to renew the scream.
The chest starts up again."