Thinking of King

[Terrance F. Flaherty]

While I listen to Nina Simone at Westbury,  


That man is one unhappy loner...GR.390

Well, the man's a puzzle. The only strange thing is that he
seemed to be alone.
Yet he is one of the Faithful:

Pilgrams
.sacred relic, every scrap of manual a verse of
Scripture. GR.391

Slothrop is Saving himself for something absolutely unique.
And this phenomenon, this Black, Enzian Black phenomenon,
Slothrop responds to its need, and it keeps returning, cycle
after cycle. 

Black returning, one more Sunday in Savannah
.the whole
creation shouting "praise the Lord."

Young folks tending Sunday school
they singing
bout the
golden rule. 

Even if they have to die
you know what life is, you know
what freedom is. What will happen now that the King of love
is dead.  


Operationally Tch is as alone as Slothrop is out here.
Slothrop is Tchicherine's boy, but Slothrop can not be
motivated personally to go get Enzian. Tch is smart enough
to know that not all American's have this reflex, the one
Marvy has, the one about Blackness, the one for which
(earlier, when we meet Marvy, barely meet him, for the first
time)  Enzian sent him for a trip off a train. 

It's a shame, cause these guys could sit under a tree, smoke
and have a gigleshits, but Tch and his cartoon side kick are
cackling insanely instead.  

TOO LONG

Are we moving  too slow? 
Have you see us Uncle Remus
we look pretty sharp in these clothes
unless we get sprayed by a hose, 

They used firehoses to break up the crowd finally. Woman
slid like dolls along the slick cobbles and on tram rails,
the thick gush catching them by belly and head, its brute
white vector dominating them. GR.399

Too long
 
have you seen Us or are we  Invisible men,

the black shadows of your Golden Rule, 

the black earth agape
split and slashed by your cross we drag
to the place of the skulls smashed by a blast over your
white TV voice
They killing us in the streets while we cry for the
conscience of King.  
Everybody knows about Mississippi Goddam
I've even stopped believing in prayer,

Too slow

What will happen now that the King of love is dead. 

"re-education" camps

they know what children need
.

Zoyd, the birds, 

does not my heavenly father, 

Slothrop don't worry about the birds, 

black bird, You were only waiting for this moment to be
free.


The sound of his country fading away
.Fading like the WASP
ghosts
given up for good on Rocketman here
.Enzian, the
African, finds him again-comes to  offer him a way out. 
GR.360

He dozes off and thinks about birds, "poor little guys,"
Don't worry son, don't worry.