.
If Need Be
If lawfare prosecutors aren’t proficient,
And Biden family crimes can’t be denied,
The ballots that they harvest aren’t sufficient,
Their policies’ gross failures they can’t hide,
If truth leaks from behind the censor’s curtain,
Fake news is obvious despite the show,
Don’t worry Democrats—and know for certain,
If need be they’ll find Covid 2.0.
.
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The Doubly Generous Tip
The reverent black lady took a chair,
And noticed the white server’s scornful stare.
The food was fine, but service, though, was not,
White patrons given more heed than she got.
Experience with waitstaff personnel,
Had taught her some believe blacks don’t tip well.
Which caused a jarring conflict in her mind,
As such poor treatment placed her in a bind.
Small tips are fair for service of that stripe,
Though it would feed the false stereotype.
But who’s to say a big tip’s aftermath,
Would spare the next black patron from such wrath?
She left a large tip—noble all the way—
In case the server had a lousy day.
.
.
The Greater Good
Liberals try to justify
__Illiberal things they do,
As “needed for the greater good,”
__Though rarely is it true.
And that claim’s so ironic given
__What way back I saw—
A liberal legal aid group which
__Pretended that the law,
Prevented public housing from
__Evicting one dwelled mother,
Whose gangster son was terrorizing
__Many nearby others.
He was not on her lease, they said,
__And thus his fear infliction,
Occurring outside of her space
__Was not grounds for eviction,
Despite the fact each tenant’s lease
__Gave management broad rights,
To oust a resident if that
__Would ease a building’s plight.
The mother’s “rights” bunk they laid out
__Showed not one moment when,
Those liberals gave a damn about
__The greater good back then.
.
Poet’s Note: As a former legal aid lawyer, witnessing this appalling case was one of the driving forces behind my political conversion from left to right.
.
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The Dumbest Things I’ve Ever Said
Most of the dumbest things I’ve ever said,
Weren’t from a failure of keeping well read.
They thankfully also were not shameful work,
Of one with no qualms about being a jerk.
Nor were they the fruits of a limited mind,
Since inside of me normal wit you would find.
No—most of the dumbest things I’ve ever said—
The words which kept shame long inside of my head—
Might commonly come when one’s still immature,
But owe, I believe, to a soul insecure.
.
.
Russel Winick recently started writing poetry after ending a long legal career. He resides in Naperville, Illinois.
What beautiful insight and candid expression… thank you, Mr Winick!
Thank you Peg. I assume that you’re referring to the fourth poem. Yes, it’s about me, alas. Your feedback is much appreciated.
Yes, covid 2.0, or disease X whatever that may be, is a good possibility and may serve to keep people away from the voting booths, or force more mail in voting. The ‘needed for the greater good’ philosophy is one of the greatest threats to our country, and I feel very few people understand it.
I probably don’t either, Phil. Thanks for your thoughts.
Left-liberals will do anything to win the 2024 election, whether it’s by creating fake Biden ballots for mail-in, or hyping another Covid lockdown, or allowing illegal aliens to vote and showing them how to fill out their straight-ticket ballot for the Democrats.
They stole the 2020 election; why shouldn’t they do the same this year? And of course our overly polite, gentlemanly, courteous, mainstream Republican eunuchs will be too squeamish and prissy to do anything effective against it.
I’m glad that poem caught your attention, Professor.
Love how you rhymed “show” with “Covid 2.0.”
Thanks Cheryl, I’m glad you liked that rhyme.
Especially love the second poem, Russel, although they are all good and wise.
Thanks JD. That poem is a true account of what happened to a friend of mine recently. I know I wouldn’t have been able to handle that situation as gracefully as she did.
Four very fine poems, Russel, with some stinging satire which shines.
Covid 2.0 is exactly right. Just wait and watch. As for the true story behind “The Greater Good,” I can sympathize with the frustration of a poet who has worked for justice his whole life only to see it mocked by ideologues who don’t give a damn about the real world consequences of the moral garbage they advocate for. This bankrupt view of how the legal system should work starts in law school. And it gets worse, never better.
Bingo, Brian. Thanks for your observations.
Russel, all three poems come from a sincere place in your heart. Sadly, I believe you are right about what will happen as you wrote in “If Need Be.” The methods of doctoring the ballots are numerous from partisan vote counting, ballot box stuffing, and mail-in ballot fraud to ballot disappearance and electronic changing. “The Doubly Generous Tip,” is a human-interest story with which many must contend and that is making a decision based on things that happened in the past to moving on with no malice and showing the good side can prevail. “The Great Good” points out the hypocrisy of the left in a case which you observed and realized that they use that term as a false front for their illicit and ill-considered views. All three are very well done.
Thanks Roy, for your generous comments.
Russel, “The Doubly Generous Tip” is a touching inspiration to do likewise whatever the server may seem to expect or deserve. I’m glad you wrote it to show the great soul within. Exactly the opposite is what you show in “The Greater Good.” And “If Need Be” outlines practical foresight that the general population seems to have this time–maybe even before the manipulators determine the need for any particular kind of manipulation. Thanks as always for versifying your observations!
You’re very welcome Margaret, and I appreciate your feedback, always.
Russel, the truth is often ugly, but you have managed to lift it to poetic heights while still getting grave points across and I thank you wholeheartedly for doing so. The world needs poetry and it needs honesty… that’s why your poems are always a treat to read. Thank you!
Thanks Susan. There are many masters on SCP, like you, whom I try to learn from.
All of these were great but I really liked the self-reflection in the last one. I’ve said and regretted saying many dumb things. The important thing is to reflect upon try and learn from those moments. Those hard at work dreaming up Covid 2.0 are not in that group.
Thanks Warren, for this great comment!