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Home Poetry

‘Late Changes’ and Other Poetry by Russel Winick

October 4, 2023
in Poetry, Satire
A A
28

.

Late Changes

Though older people may proclaim
__That they intend to change,
One should by no means find it strange
__If they remain the same.

.

.

Reunion

Conversations with dear, old friends sharing
Key details on what life’s come to be,
Which soon put a firm end to despairing,
That my angst is exclusive to me.

.

.

Plan B

Joe Biden’s Plan B,
In letter and verse,
Is “they can’t dump me,
Since Harris is worse.”

.

.

Trump 2016 & 2024

Trump did some good as president back then.
But all the histrionics—I hate that!
Just one thing would land him my vote again—
If his opponent is a Democrat.

.

.

Russel Winick recently started writing poetry after ending a long legal career. He resides in Naperville, Illinois.

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Comments 28

  1. Phil L Flott says:
    2 years ago

    I love quatrains!

    Reply
    • Russel Winick says:
      2 years ago

      Glad to hear that. I do too. Thanks Phil.

      Reply
  2. Paddy Raghunathan says:
    2 years ago

    And there are many like me who’ll vote for Democrats simply because Republicans can’t get over their love affair with Trump.

    🙂

    Reply
    • Joshua C. Frank says:
      2 years ago

      And that justifies voting for the slaughter of unborn children, not to mention the transgender deception and all kinds of other horrors pushed by the Democrats, too numerous to list here? I don’t like Trump much as a person either, but I’d choose him over any Democrat.

      A vote for a Democrat is a vote for murder. It really is that simple.

      Reply
      • Paddy Raghunathan says:
        2 years ago

        IMHO, I have always voted for what I’ve perceived to be the lesser of the two “evils.”

        Obviously your yardstick for defining “evil” is different from mine. I am not going to be able to change your opinion, nor are you going to be able to change mine.

        To each his or her own.

        Cheers.

        Reply
      • Joshua C. Frank says:
        2 years ago

        I know I can’t change your mind… but I have to know what’s so evil that legalized mass murder can be considered the lesser evil.

        Reply
      • Joseph S. Salemi says:
        2 years ago

        Josh, you need to give it a rest. We all know your stand on abortion, and many of us here share it. But it doesn’t have to be expressed on every occasion, in a tone of truculent outrage.

        Reply
      • Joshua C. Frank says:
        2 years ago

        Understood. Please accept my apology.

        Reply
    • C.B. Anderson says:
      2 years ago

      So sad to hear you say that, Paddywhack.

      Reply
    • Russel Winick says:
      2 years ago

      Thanks for reading my poems, Paddy.

      Reply
  3. Roy Eugene Peterson says:
    2 years ago

    I always enjoy your short pithy poems. They are inspirational and give me ideas for more. Here are some short responses to each one as I consider them:
    Late Changes.
    Since older people may decide
    ___Religion they should change
    One by no means should find it strange
    ___They want to save their hide.

    Reunion.
    The more I talk with longtime friends
    ___On what is in their past,
    The more I realize their ends
    ___Are means that did not last.

    Plan B.
    The sad truth of Joe Biden
    ___is that he does not belong.
    Although I can’t support him,
    ___Kamal Harris would be wrong.

    Trump 2016 & 2024
    Trump was a great president.
    I still support his cause.
    The Democratic precedent
    Is ruining our laws.

    I hope you don’t mind my thoughts on your poems. I especially liked the ending of the Biden one.

    Reply
    • Russel Winick says:
      2 years ago

      Roy, I’m honored by your response to my poems. Thank you!

      Reply
  4. Joshua C. Frank says:
    2 years ago

    Great ones as usual, Russel! Every one of these is right on the money, and done so succinctly, too!

    Reply
    • Russel Winick says:
      2 years ago

      Thank Joshua, I appreciate your feedback!

      Reply
  5. Susan Jarvis Bryant says:
    2 years ago

    Wonderful as ever, Russel, and I particularly like Plan B… that Kamala cackle and the mention of Ven diagrams has given me Harris hives… and she’s only vice president.

    Reply
    • Russel Winick says:
      2 years ago

      Thank you, Poet Laureate.

      Reply
  6. Margaret Coats says:
    2 years ago

    “Late Changes” is the only closed quatrain here (abba instead of abab), and that closed rhyme scheme fits the theme of aging inertia. I very much like Roy Peterson’s adaptation, too, and hope his folk who want to save their hides can open the door when they need to. You, Russel, have a great overall sense for topics in need of your wit!

    Reply
    • Russel Winick says:
      2 years ago

      Thank you Margaret. I must confess that I often learn from you things I didn’t know about my own poems, and I’m always grateful for the education.

      Reply
  7. Paul A. Freeman says:
    2 years ago

    Plan B is sadly a case of many a true word being said in jest.

    As with the former president, from the day he was mocking a disabled reporter who had arthritic-looking hands (then denied knowing the man) it was apparent he was unsuitable for office (cue excuses).

    Reply
    • Joseph S. Salemi says:
      2 years ago

      Excuse No. 1 — You don’t need to be a nice guy to run a country well.

      Reply
    • Mike Bryant says:
      2 years ago

      Video from 2015 seems to indicate that Trump was indeed cruelly imitating the man. But the media are too lazy and those suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome are too nasty and small-minded to look deeper. The truth is, Trump has often used those same convulsive gestures to mimic the mannerisms of people, including himself, who are rattled and exasperated.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsaB3ynIZH4

      Reply
      • Paul Freeman says:
        2 years ago

        You’ve been gaslighted Mike. Same as that weird excuse you gave when he suggested injecting disinfectant to fight COVID. It’s not that he’s not nice, he’s sociopathic.

        Reply
        • Mike Bryant says:
          2 years ago

          Did you even look at the video? Talk about buying lies…

          Reply
      • Mike Bryant says:
        2 years ago

        Paul, in the video Trump made the same gesture when talking about Cruz. He has used that little act for years and years… but none of that matters because Orange Man BAD!

        Reply
      • Joseph S. Salemi says:
        2 years ago

        I don’t think Paul even knows what the word “sociopathic” means. If the term applies to anyone it’s to that sick, evil bitch he beat in 2016.

        But when one suffers from Trump Derangement Syndrome, one is permitted to use any language that one finds handy as a weapon.

        Reply
        • Mike Bryant says:
          2 years ago

          I think it’s sad that so many do not realize that worldwide media is under the tight reins of the WEF and the UN. The actual conspiracy theorists of today believe that the government cares about them, the media would never mislead or lie to them and the pharmaceutical industry that makes billions off sickness wants to cure them.

          Reply
        • Mike Bryant says:
          2 years ago

          Joseph, a nice bit of writing here on the current gaslighting;

          https://kunstler.com/clusterfuck-nation/comes-the-dancing-skeleton/

          Reply
      • Joshua C. Frank says:
        2 years ago

        Yes, it’s sad that organizations like these control the media to such an extent that even to say so is to be dismissed as paranoid. And then people believe whatever the media tell them.

        For more, please read The Boniface Option by Andrew Isker.

        Reply

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