Carl Stilwell AKA CaLokie

GHOST STORY *

I was

walking by

my house.

And all of

a sudden

I hear,

“Ghost!”

And I

looked

and I

see somebody

and I didn’t know

who it was.

“Com’ere!”

they say

and they

keep on

getting closer

and yelling

“Ghost.”

And then 

they say,

“Where’re

you from?”

And I say,

“Nowhere,

homes.

I don’t

bang 

no more.”

“Where

you from?”

Nowhere.

And then

I hear,

“Ghost!

I thought

I knew

you, fool!”

And then

they shoot.

BAM!

And I

could see 

my body

on the 

floor.

and then

they come over

and say, “See

I told you,

I fuckin’

told you...

STUPID!

See I

told you.

Fuckin

told you.

Fuckin...”

BAM!  

*A found poem from PP. 101-102, Celeste Fremon, Father Greg & the Homeboys, Hyperion New York, 1995

DOUBLE SONNET REFLECTIONS OF A SHOOTING STAR

Half a million U.S. families bankrupt each year from medical debt

Almost 70,000 needless deaths each year due to denied care

Among the world's 10 highly developed countries, the United States, 

the only one without universal health care, ranks last

Mangione in manifesto says “US the number one most expensive 

healthcare system in the world, yet number 42 in life expectancy” 

Mother told overnight hospital stay "not medically necessary" 

after her 12-year-old's heart surgery

Bladder treatment costing $250 in China costs $13,200 in Texas

Last year UnitedHealthcare had the highest denial rate - 32%

Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield announces it would limit 

coverage on anesthesia during surgery

UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson en route to investor conference 

at Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan to collect Christmas bonus

Last year he made almost $20 million, or almost $40K a day, 

mostly in non-taxable bonuses or stock options

UnitedHealthcare CEO, Brian Thompson, shot in back and killed

The words, “DENY, DEFEND, and DEPOSE” printed on bullet shells 

Shooting Star, Luigi Mangione, now a folk hero 

New Yorkers hold a shooter lookalike contest, all hood and mask

Wanted posters went up around New York City featuring 

names, crimes and salaries of eight insurance CEOS

One poster read, "Wanted. Denying medical care for corporate profit”

The New York Times won’t publish any more pictures of his face 

or physique nor statement explaining his killing

But as Gandhi and King have reminded us, violence isn’t the answer 

The issue Mangione apparently sought to highlight has a nonviolent 

political solution: single-payer health care, or Medicare for All *

* America Will Be Obsessed With Luigi Mangione for a Long Time 

BY LIZA FEATHERSTONE, JACOBIN, 12.13.2024