Monday, March 5, 2012

Peter Ivey

JENNY BROWN

Who knows about Jenny Brown,
That woman who went missing
On the other side of town,

Walking across Essex Square,
To catch the bus at the deli,
And meet her sister there,

Who knows about Laura Lee,
That lady who went missing
Down by Essex and Eastern Quay,

Whistling her way past the water,
Her arm clutching a gift
To give to her daughter,

Who knows about Heidi Jones,
That girl who disappeared
While on her way back home—

Somebody knows, and somebody lied,
About the underground homicide,
And nobody sees, and nobody knows,
The monster who stalks our lovers so;

Reduced to a few lines on page six,
A girl's shade lingers,
And the clock ticks, and ticks.


Gerald So reads "Jenny Brown":



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Peter confesses: "'Jenny Brown' was inspired by the murder of Holly Jones in 2003 in Toronto, and how blind that city is to the quiet, brutal crimes that go on among the transient population."


PETER IVEY is a soon-to-be married writer and teacher living underground somewhere in Hamilton, Ontario. In another life, he stood shouting his rants on the corner in Toronto as a spoken-word poet and soapbox occupier. He has been published in Buffalo at Canisius College after his penchant for posting his work on all bulletin boards around campus left them little choice.

3 comments:

Nancy Scott said...

Good selection, heavy subject, nice lilt, which marks the horror even more.

Thomas Pluck said...

Fantastic.

Kathleen A. Ryan said...

Peter, you've captured the subject matter so poignantly. As a retired police officer who worked 16 out of my 21 years in Public Information (a unit that works w the media, issues press releases, handles interviews, etc) and Crime Stoppers (taking anonymous tips from the public to help solve crimes), I certainly understand the inequality of media coverage regarding particular missing persons. I made a point of profiling a particular case each year on the anniversary of the young man's disappearance, hoping to jar someone into making a call ~ to do the right thing, and bring some amount of peace to a grieving mother. I also profiled unsolved murders and serious crimes. It was a privilege to speak with the callers who had the information to solve a murder, bank robbery, abduction, etc. I give those callers a lot of credit and was always appreciative when they stepped forward.
Nice work, Peter!