John

“We all shine on, like the moon, and the stars, and the sun.”
John Lennon

John Lennon by: Shen

I’ll not listen
not be shackled
not be handled
not be ruled

I’ll not be managed
nor be played
manipulated
or be fooled

you sure as hell
will not tell me
who
what
where
when
how
or why

what you offer
I’m not taking
your extended hand
I am not shaking
the world I walk
is of my making

and

I will not have it
any other way

your iron fist
I destroyed it
your sage advice
I avoid it

you can
rant
rave
condemn
and preach

your approval
I do not beseech
I seek only
my good counsel

I’ll not succumb
to might
or muscle
not be swayed
by your slick hustle

I’m calling out for peace
you’re sending in police
how much gotta burn
before fools eva’ learn

I am a man
of my own mind
and I will live
as my own man

this is all
I want to be
well-heard
loved
and free

*
rob kistner © 2023

Poetry at: The Sunday Muse

 



Below here is considered the very first on-air report of John Lennon’s murder.
click on: * LISTEN IN BROWSER *


6 thoughts on “John”

  1. Rob, when “The Killing Fields” ended with John’s ‘Imagine’ … I absolutely lost it. Had to remain in the theatre a long time, sobbing. I was with my best friend Linda, who also could not move. The most moving musical inclusion in a film I had ever seen, or ever will. Thank you for the John poem.

    1. Yes Sherry. Think of how his heart would break in today’s more fucked up world, especially the United States, which he loved. We simply can’t pull our heads far enough out of our asses to understand.

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