Ode to JonBenet Ramsey
“Come leave the loathéd stage,
And the more loathsome age…”
--Ben Johnson, “Ben Jonson’s Execration Against Vulcan”
And the more loathsome age…”
--Ben Johnson, “Ben Jonson’s Execration Against Vulcan”
Lost,
the magic of being
invigorates and hides in the flesh—
if answers could appear in the night
all hope is flower in flight.
invigorates and hides in the flesh—
if answers could appear in the night
all hope is flower in flight.
You were
illumined by strokes
of lightning in the sky;
the swollen uterus of time
bound the public heart
of lightning in the sky;
the swollen uterus of time
bound the public heart
with
your serendipitous smile.
The
night passed in star-shone glory
as your blood fell like a sacred offering.
No smoke rose from your happy eyes.
The world lies and continues to lie.
as your blood fell like a sacred offering.
No smoke rose from your happy eyes.
The world lies and continues to lie.
You, JonBenet, are the fallen angel
from America’s silent innocence.
You alone are the carrier of Fate.
The unearthed fossil, emptiness.
from America’s silent innocence.
You alone are the carrier of Fate.
The unearthed fossil, emptiness.
If you
still believe in yourself,
come forward, again chase glory—
eat the lies finally and then digest.
All summer we looked for rain.
come forward, again chase glory—
eat the lies finally and then digest.
All summer we looked for rain.
It
didn’t come. It couldn’t come.
--Jason Mecier
JonBenét Ramsey was a 6-year-old beauty pageant queen who had won America's Royale Miss, Little Miss Charlevoix, Little Miss Colorado, Colorado State All-Star Kids Cover Girl, and National Tiny Miss Beauty titles. She was killed in her family's home in Boulder, Colorado, during the night of Christmas in 1996. She was found in the basement of her house by her father about 8 hours after she was reported missing. Her mouth was covered with duct tape, a nylon cord was tied around her neck and wrists, and her body was covered with a white blanket. She was wearing white leggings and a shirt, not the clothing she wore when she was put to bed. Although no semen was found, there was evidence that there had been a vaginal injury and it appeared that her vaginal area had been wiped with a cloth. She had been strangled and sustained a broken skull; a garrote made from a nylon cord and the broken handle of a paintbrush was found tied around her neck. An unidentified boot mark was in the room. Her mother had found a 2 1/2-page handwritten ransom letter on the kitchen staircase. The ransom note and a practice draft were written with a pen and pad of paper from the Ramsey home, but the police believed that the ransom note was staged because of its length, its lack of fingerprints, and its unusual use of exclamation marks and acronyms. Part f the bristle end of the paintbrush was found in a tub containing her mother's art supplies, but the bottom 1/3 of the brush was never located. The crime is still unsolved and remains an open investigation with the Boulder Police Department.
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