John Wilkes Booth

Force holier than hidden craft,
Lion nobler than the fox,
Actions tacit and oft delayed,
Caesar in a box;
Bloody, sacred and misinformed,
Anger eviscerated by doubt,
God-like purpose, three-ring circus,
Thespians on the out.

Force holier than hidden craft,
Lion nobler than the fox,
Plans sweetened with smelling salts,
Souls chiseled with rocks;
Confusion ignited, compassion excited,
Assignations lit by maddening moons,
Effervescent lights on angels' wings
Mix elocution with Roman ruins.

Force holier than hidden craft,
Lion nobler than the fox,
Rancid smells, brackish hells,
Conspirators' benighted clocks;
Chasing down the river's bend,
Rising with apoplectic guile,
Hallelujah! cries the soldier's whore,
Framed by Brutus's feckless smile.

Barry G. Gale presently serves as Professorial Lecturer, the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University. He received a Ph.D. in the History and Philosophy of Science from the University of Chicago and was a National Science Foundation Fellow to Cambridge University, where he also taught. Just beginning to write poems and fiction, Mr. Gale has published 20 poems and five short stories. He has also published numerous articles and book reviews in his field of study, including a book on Charles Darwin which appeared in both the United States (University of New Mexico Press) and Great Britain (Harvester Press).

Email: Barry G. Gale

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