The 35th President of the United States, John F Kennedy, was assassinated on 22nd November 1963 in Dallas, Texas, by Lee Harvey Oswald.
Oswald, lying in wait in a high building, fired on the presidential motorcade as it was passing through Dealey Plaza.
Kennedy, fatally wounded, was rushed to nearby Parkland Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead about 30 minutes after the shooting.
The assassination has proved to be one of those pivotal moments in contemporary history, like the Twin Towers attack, that will remain fixed in the minds of those who were alive at the time.
Shortly after his arrest, and whilst in custody, Oswald was himself assassinated, giving rise to a multitude of conspiracy theories.
NOVEMBER 1963
The motorcade moves steadily,
as time does, towards history.
Three limousines, sedate and slow,
glide through the Dallas noonday glow.
A white Ford leads, while, at the back,
sleek as a shark, a Cadillac
and in between, smooth chrome and mirrors,
a Lincoln Continental purrs.
Outriders, vigilant and keen,
tough cops, cool, muscular and lean,
on Harley-Davidsons, survey
a festive, jubilant display.
The President, young, debonair,
beneath a boyish mop of hair,
shares with the world his winning smile,
his charismatic sense of style.
His modish wife, serene and proud,
waves to the rapt, adoring crowd
of smiling faces, black and white,
expressions optimistic, bright,
that sways excitedly to cheer
as, steadfastly, the drivers steer
to Dealey Plaza up ahead,
a routine job, no cause for dread,
nothing to hint that, from today,
bright screens will constantly replay
the coming moments, frame by frame,
as devotees call out his name,
JFK, Kennedy ... a hymn.
The noonday light appears to swim
as, past the captivated throng,
three cars cruise steadily along,
one hard-top car, two open-top,
into the moment time will stop,
into to the space that fate dictates
where Oswald, the assassin, waits.
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