“Lonely Hearts Killers: From 1943 to 1947” by Dane Ince

If the Lonely Heart were merely depressed / They fixed that easy

A Merchant Marine who was a brilliant British spy
Called Raymond Martinez Fernandez
To be known later as RMF
Got conked in the head, a wonder not to be dead
Fractured his skull
Brain parts were damaged
Lost control of social and sexual behavior
Then did a brief stent in the pen
A school for Black magic and conversion to Voodoo
His personal zen lead him to answer a Lonely Hearts
personal ad
Where he met his honey Martha Jule Beck
Later we know her as MJB
A “glandular problem” to explain her weight
Premature puberty promiscuous
MJB was raped by her brother
Beat by her mother for the trouble of sin
She buried her sorrow in fantasy magazines
the throb of romantic novels
And Lonely Hearts personal ads
That is where MJB fell under the spell of RMF
His charm and irresistible power
They made a plan
Lured Lonely Hearts personal ad responders
Helped them to death
Their Isolation was hammers to heads
RMF and MJB were so kind to end
The misery of loneliness
With a choking, a strangle and drowning
Now if the Lonely Heart were merely depressed
They fixed that easy
with a shot to the head
You should be locked up and hiding
fearing the dread
These rascals rampage even now
Isolation, loneliness, and depression
are not just in your head
These are not New Lonely Hearts Killers
Not in the least
Been around forever
And still on the spree
launching a new crimewave
They are shooting and stabbing all over the place
Killing unaware folks dead
Haven’t you heard its headline news
Isolation loneliness depression are doing us in
Not just a mental problem alone just in the head
Better call the cavalry
And expert or a friend
Call some lonely person you may know
Who you can defend
good for them
good for you
Shelter in place is alarming
Causes a significant increase
In the risk of premature dying
Not just the vapors but misery
These killers are real as the experts say
What, what, my amygdala is shrinking
My heart is attacking
My blood pressure increasing
Better make a routine
Stick to it
It matters the day
And that you can say it
Get a plan for connection
Call Momma
Call Daddy
Call those that you love and know
To just say hey how’s it going
you okay
Pets can keep up immunity
And are just fun to snuggle
Stand up and fight
So you wont be a victim
Of poor sleep. Impairment
Cognitive decline
You are too beautiful
I would be sad for you
To be just one of the numbers
A victim of the Lonely Hearts Killers

Dane Ince is The National Beat Poetry Foundation’s Beat Poet Laureate for California (2022-2024) and publisher of EyePublishEwe Press, which will release Destiny, Murder! (featuring “Lonely Hearts Killers” and “Mid Dive”) in late 2023.