In One Year

In just one year, the earth revolves around the sun,
glaring past the seasons like some flaming meteor; 

In just one year, you're born under Gemini's sign,
nourished and loved, warmth from cuddled arms;

In just one year, you grow to walk and talk,
logorrhea spewing from a wobbled frame;

In just one year, sent to school,
to elicit thought and reason;

In just one year, discerning deterrents,
askew the parochial view;

In just one year, the boy becomes a man,
sent off to war, to encroach upon ideology; 

In just one year, comes back a hero,
exultant in the highest honor;

In just one year, marries his sweetheart,
the precursor of an unending cycle;

In just one year, becomes the President,
the stalwart of appeasing change;

In just one year, rose a nation
to its highest egalitarian mountain;

In just one year, that was all gone,
when "they" shot John F. Kennedy. 

- John Hardesty