by John Kendall Hawkins
.
Cher's Bang Bang was Wolfman's number one hit
back in a day I no longer recall,
days scalping and shooting, dropping the ball,
nincompoop uncles in some Vaudeville skit
describing their Viet Nam kills, stretching
their 'gook' eyes for comical effect, back
in the halcyon days of race hate -- stack-
the-deck Civil Rights days of white kvetching.
Mom strummed a guitar that had just one string
and sang America the Beautiful, proudly;
I got a Johnny 7 and loudly
fought the commies -- blew up everything.
Old and frail I now wonder what it meant:
my six-shooters are well and truly spent.
