Remembering Linda Rae York - the Cruel Truth about what happened in 1962

Roanoke & Lexington Virginia 1962

Far off, car radio plays,
deep in night, stand and gaze,
under Roanoke's star, its ruby haze.
Soft, her voice, her sapphire eyes,
Linda's look, her solemn sighs.

Misty too their future lays
summers lost, winters days
sudden endings hard surprise
secrets tell not how they died
why cruel love ended, why painful lies.

Promised lonely lives unmade,
moments lost too many days
far off lovers wander'd crazed,
left quite dark, their broken ways.
But heavy heartsongs still get played

Wrinkled face, hair quite gray,
nightly memory sadly strays,
to sleepless time, to lonely maze
abandoned dreams, to misty gaze
to far off eyes, soft, blue, betrayed.

Her summer voice on mountains made
sweet gentle music, passing played,
echoed answers quickly fade,
so swiftly gone, so saddened days,
unforgiven, cruel, they passed that way.

The Coward's Secret

Deprogrammed dazed a
rat in maze he's held there crazed
by screamed threats for days
they could not stop the vicious ways
til manboy, weak, afraid, obeyed.

In Lex motel Teal and Dan
brow-beat down their too-young "man"
course re-set, back in their traces,
harnessed up, dumb mule now paces
smiling now, they've got their plan.

Four days locked he's mocked and hazed,
deprogramming reprogramming awful phase,
threats, charges, screaming and plays
kidnapped, sequestered, imprisoned stays
at last, and broken bad he sways.

Falling stumbling blindly moves
on stinking carpet worn by grooves
of endless feet and pacing shoes
he careens past them vision blued.

Motel door bursts open, wild, raged,
manboy programmed, robot, crazed
leans breathless, in the stinking booth
dials, ugly, mean lies sinking truth
zombie now repeats untruth:

"I don't love you" so quick he lies
spit out, o'er cliff he flies
fast so fast momentum went
no clawing back no silence sent
but stupid neutered manboy, dies.

Aghast, a moan moves back by wire
"I don't believe you" hard she cries.
Tears stream down both their faces.
Love's murdered lost embraces,
faint, each falls, alone, afire.

Blazing high that funeral heat
gazing nigh just at their feet
shocked and sobbing
I don't ... I don't ... each must repeat
killing truth in sad defeat.

Black phone cradled
oh blackest night
oh bleakest day
oh cowards flight
oh innocent's lost light.

Both stagger backwards
reeling steep, away forever
depths too deep
forgiveness never,
lies too steep.

No climbing back, not now not ever,
No answers offered
No just blackness
No Crushed, forever
No Never back lest ...

What? An emptiness complete
fills and blocks
where last their feet
so softly walked
so locked, defeat.

Murdered yes by Teal and Dan
mind, heart frozen no lips that can
say nothing more their little "man"
not aloud but every day
said in silence locked away.

Silence.

Silence.

Nothingness.

Later

A decade passes, then two, then more,
Thanksgiving day again implores.
He calls her mother, just once more
"She's not here" throat full, she lies
"Leave her alone!" voice breaks, then cries.

As close as breath
her voice, her scent
guilty sorrows, silence rent
the truth is hidden
the story, unbidden.

Perhaps she's forgotten
call misbegotten
she sweet, they rotten,
she gone to nurse,
he lost to Curse:

Each day forever still he dies
a coward's limp sick liar's lies
ugly crooked truth ununfold:
her, crusted wounds now simply, old
his, coward's death, alone,

Untold.

...

Continue reading at POETRY & SHORT FICTION, Daniel Friedman , or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

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