The Day I Was Born

— From a prompt from Barby Jane Lumb.

The world on the day I was born?

Oh, I can’t recall.

Eisenhower
was president. I know that much.
Nixon was looking for his seat,
I know that.  Kennedy wanted it
bad enough to steal it, not knowing
he’d die after getting it. 

Elvis Presley
was in another part of the hospital
I was born in that day, getting some kind
of physical before mustering out
of the service, leaving the building
as I was coming in, haha,
I’ve told that joke forever but
it’s the truth though it’s another thing
I don’t recall.

All this
was coming down — how things
were going to change was in the air —
Elvis about to lose his edge, Kennedy
about to lose his life, Nixon
about to lose — all that was going on

and there I was
squalling like a storm,
like I knew what was coming.