Where Were You?

Tripping I glide
Lost I wander
In the middle of my mind I travel
I’ve no home
No place to go or see
Civilized or feral I’m not quite sure
Things are coming
Things are changing
Within me or without me?

Where were you when Kennedy was killed?

Another autumn night
Not spent watching the leaves
Another restless moment
In-between conformity
I’m about to break
My mind
My mind
Cog...nit...ive str...uc...tur...e
And yes it matters to me

Where were you when Monroe died?

Drawing nearer, yet losing hope
We delve in the subject as if it were History
As if we were bystanders, not effected by the outcome
Linking our hearts, our lives
We have found that through passive involvement we are one
I want to run away, I want to forget what I’ve done
Angry voices tell me its wrong to live this way
Free-thinkers truly are dangerous

Where were you when Lennon was assassinated?

Dripping in the thought process
Lanky and leery I reach
Reach I reach
Tripping and losing my mind
I find that life is a lie
With the power to destroy power
I’ve found that life is a lie
Answers...answers...answers?
Hide from the unexplainable and
Find that life is your lie

Where were you when the lie was revealed?...


Please comment.
~Mark~
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It's very good. You did an excellent job with the structure of it, spacing narration with questions, and playing with your words. "Cog...nit...ive str...uc...tur...e" I liked. "Free thinkers truly are dangerous." Cool line. Have you tried getting it published somewhere? You really should. I'd be willing to bet it will get accepted at the first place you try.
DC
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I wouldn't know where to begin on getting things published. Thanks for the great commment!
~Mark~
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this is really great-the first stanza is my favorite, but it is an overall wonderful piece! -laura
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Thanks, the first stanza is my favorite too. The last is probably my second favorite.
~Mark~
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if you want to say- i would like to know this poem's inspiration...laura
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wow...that was really awesome...i don't even know what else to say. i don't think i can.
Sammy*
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Laura - My first, and only, trip. As of yet. Thanks everyone for the comments.
~Mark~
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I've changed this poem a little since I posted it. The revised one says "Where were you when Tupac was killed?" & "...when Marley died?" the last other one about Lennon is still there. I just wanted to use more musical-influential people. What do ya'll think?
~Mark~
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mark- i am not opposed to changing it to more of a musical influence- i'm not sure if tupac was as influencial as say marley or lennon, but i do like the musical theme better. -laura
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Thanks. The reason I changed it was because I liked the Lennon part, and I thought that Monroe was kinda confusing. But I guess Marley could be confusing in a way. I don't know. Tupac is influential to me so I'm gonna keep him. Tupac was to rap what Bob Marley was to reggae and what Lennon was to, well music. But yeah, I'd say that the other two are more influential.
~Mark~
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I like Kennedy and Monroe better. It extends the poem beyond music, and into the rest of, well, existence? Society? Something like that. I'm assuming by Monroe you mean Marilyn. If you confine the content to just music, then you cage the poem. At the risk of sounding too "new agey", you have to let it flow.
DC
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Yeah I see what your saying. And yes its Marilyn Monroe. It first started out becuase people would always ask where were you when you heard that JFK was killed. My mom to this day can tell you exactly what she was doing when she heard about it, and she was about 4 years-old I believe. I don't know now, sometimes I think I should leave it how I said it the first time because thats when I was in the train of thought that lead me to the end. And then I'll think, well I can change it for the better becuase I didn't think of this or that at the time. So now I'm stuck, I guess I'll just have two versions.
~Mark~
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I have several poems where I have the beginning version and the revised version, and I can't bring myself to discard either one. The first version is just a raw outpouring of feeling sometimes, and there's a beauty in that, just as there is in the refined, finished version.
DC
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kednnedy was assassiated
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Yeah, but so was Lennon, and I didn't want to repeat the two.
~Mark~
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Saying Lennon was assasinated and Kennedy was killed also says something about what the writer of the poem really thinks. Caring more for the individuality the singer represented than the individuality the government represented . . . I like the difference.
DC