T.V. Dinner | Photograph | 39.5 in x 27 in | Christopher Ruane
In history’s continuum / every beginning is artifice /

every context is partial / every story is fragment /
each iteration a Chinese whisper / transforming /

history sieved and remade / 
the way time works a landscape out of recognition /

as when / a camera records a summary execution /
in a Saigon street in 1968 / swift / brutal /

outstretched arm holding a gun / to a man’s head /
and in one frozen moment / image overwhelming context /

speaking to itself / above / the background murmur /
of killings / and retribution / before the spattering /

of every thought / feeling / aspiration /
before the crumple to the road / and the pooling /

blood / terror writ large on a man’s face / 
eyes closed / arms tied behind his back /

never knowing or caring /
about the immortality of his death /

broadcast across the world / on televisions /
in kitchens and dining rooms /

the instant of cessation / repeated / on thousands /
of black and white screens /

in front of one of which / a boy / eating dinner /
watches his father’s wild enthusiasm /

his punch in the air / his jubilation /
as if a gold medal was won / in the last instant /

victory snatched from defeat /
death and jubilation clasped together /

in the boy’s heart / the young man’s heart /
the middle-aged man’s heart /

until disgorged in a poem in 1994 /
Remember That Vietnamese Guy They Shot On TV In 1968 /

published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette /
and read by thousands more / echoes of echoes /

some readers remembering / others discovering /
neither perpetrator / or victim / now named /

the event / re-imagined / gathering longevity /
rippling through time / and the poem too /

surfacing again / in 2015 / flint sparking /
a photographer’s imagination / prompting /

a response / that goes beyond / event /
and poem / that seeks / to collate /

into one photograph / a whole album /
of brutalities / juxtaposed / images /

of the Vietnam War / with / American domesticity / 
an old television set / showing / a dining room /

kitchen / three adults / seated at table /
a plain / white tablecloth / and behind them all /

a television / turned on / a fridge / a wall clock /
in the foreground / a young / blond-haired girl /

carrying / a dark-haired doll / leaving /
the room / her head / and eyes / looking downwards /

whilst / stretching out / behind her /
the height of a door / and onto the ceiling /

an elongated / shadow / arms held out / from body /
signifying / the young / Napalm Girl /

seared / into the collective / consciousness /
of a generation / and a woman / pouring tea /

arm outstretched / towards a man / in a singlet / 
echo of the arm / holding the gun / echo /

the third adult / an elderly man / on fire /
flames / at his feet / spreading / across floor /

and rising / in a fireball / above him / 
symbolic / of the burning monk /

and what I see / viewing this photo / 
at an exhibition / in 2016 / is the insistent /

entry / of conflagration / into our homes /
into our lives / how the fires / of brutality /

burn / into us / make us participants /
complicit / all of us / rats / on history’s wheel /

running / for safety / though there will be none /
if the fires turn / if we find / ourselves /

suddenly / in our own / frozen moment /
with the flames / upon us /

and then / this poem / and then / you / and then


Notes:

Remember That Vietnamese Guy They Shot On TV In 1968 by Chris Yeager,

published in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette May 14, 1994 exhibited

January 16 – February 27, 2016 at PANZA Gallery, and reproduced in the anthology

titled Verse Envisioned: Poems From The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette And Works

Of Art They Have Inspired.

T.V. Dinner by Christopher Ruane exhibited January 16 – February 27, 2016

at PANZA Gallery, and reproduced in the anthology titled Verse Envisioned:

Poems From The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette And Works Of Art They Have Inspired.
For more information regarding the original photo of the execution and the

accompanying footage see Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nguyễn_Ngọc_Loan, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nguyễn_Văn_Lém, and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Adams_(photographer).