Johnny Longfellow

ELEGY FOR A SMALL TOWN

When geese fly south across the sky
Aroun’ this time each year,
Ain’t nothin’ much to see some guy

Go out ‘n’ dress a deer.
Fact is, it ain’t the slightest bit
Unusual ‘roun here

To see some game hung up ‘n’ split
Wide open, ‘til it’s bled.
O’ course, it’s somethin’ to admit

How when they called on Ed,
That’s jus’ the scene them po-lice foun’
Outside there, in ‘is shed.

I guess that’s why when rifles soun’
An’ skies grow thick with geese,
There ain’t a soul in this whole town
Who won’t recall Bernice.


Johnny reads "Elegy for a Small Town":



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Johnny confesses: "This poem explores the lasting impact of Bernice Worden’s 1957 murder on the town of Plainfield, Wisconsin. From the ballad’s mundane opening to its grisly conclusion, Dante’s rhyme scheme, terza rima, proved inspirational in terms of structuring a brief narrative."

JOHNNY LONGFELLOW's poetry has appeared in The Barefoot Muse, Ppigpenn, Thieves Jargon, and Underground Voices. He is also the curator of the multi-media art-site Midnight Lane Gallery, and poetry editor of Midnight Lane Boutique. To contact Johnny, email: MIDNIGHTLANEGALLERY at GMAIL dot COM.