I found this old newspaper amongst Bill's memories. Here is the
poem and the why/when/where at the end. So beautiful. Thank you,
Mr. Ferlinghetti:
An Elegy to Dispel Gloom
Let us not sit upon the ground and talk
of the death of sanity.
That two sweet men are dead
is all that need be said.
Two so sentient beings
two humans made of flesh
are meshed in death
and no more need be said.
It is pure vanity to think that all humanity
is bathed in red
because one young mad man
one so bad man
lost his head.
The force that thru the red fuze
drove the bullet
does not drive everyone
thru the City of Saint Francis
where there’s a breathless hush
in the air today
a hush at City Hall
and a hush at the Hall of Justice
a hush in Saint Francis Wood
where no bird sings
nor tries his wings
a hush on the Great Highway
and in the great harbor
on the great ships
and on the Embarcadero
from the Eagle Cafe
to the Mission Rock Resort
a hush on the
great red bridge
and on the great gray bridge
a hush in the Mission
and at Hunters Point
a hush at a hot potato stand on Pier 39
and a hush at the Peoples Temple
where no bird sings
a hush and a weeping
at the Convent of the Sacred Heart
on Upper Broadway
a hush upon the fleshpots
of Lower Broadway
a hush in the punk rock
at Mabuhay Gardens
and among the cafes and bookstores
of old North Beach
a hush upon the landscape
of the still Wild West
where two sweet dudes are dead
and no more need be said.
Do not sit upon the ground and talk
of the death of things beyond
these sad sad happenings.
Such men as these do rise above
our worst imaginings.
~ Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Published in the San Francisco Chronicle on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 1978.
after Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk were murdered
by Supervisor Dan White.
