Who is this finger-waving man—
this millionaire, this communist?
Let’s think about him while we can,
this grandpa with the Marxist twist.
Our wealth, I fear, he’ll commandeer
“to help the poor, the indigent!”
but from his own steer very clear,
contributing not one red cent.
Must politicians always lie?
Must evil be their sole intent?
Thank God we’ve got this other guy—
I’m voting for the President!
We fought two wars to stop this threat
and thousands died—dare we forget?
Joe Tessitore is a retired New York City resident and poet.
Joe – I think this may be the first tetrameter Shakespearean sonnet I’ve ever read. Technically sound and well written, with a punchy couplet at the end. It works well for me
You’ve nailed it, Joe. Grumpy Bernie seems to want the U.S. to become more like Venezuela. Imagine that! But don’t imagine that Biden will do us any better. I’m sure you don’t, but I had to say it. I still believe in self-responsibility, the first & second amendments, and, above all, the pursuit of happiness and prosperity. Anything else is a rip-off. Don’t let the bastards wear you down.
Thank you, Peter.
Peter,
See if you can find a volume from Ivor Winters. I think you will see many such tetrameter sonnets there.
Hi Peter, that is surprising, since Shakespeare himself wrote a tetrameter sonnet: No 145 – generally thought to be early and to his wife, hence the pun.
A fine poem, Joe! Congratulations on it.
Thanks, Sally.
Poor Joe Biden suffers from incipient dementia. This is of course a tragedy for him and his family, but it would be an even bigger tragedy were he to be elected President. As a mentally incompetent person, he would be completely in the hands of his unelected staff and advisors, all of whom would be just as fanatically leftist as Bernie Sanders, and who would be unanswerable for whatever insane policies they might choose to pursue.
Biden as President would be nothing but a hood ornament. The engine in his government would be the kind of evil fanatics that we have seen as his opponents in the primaries.
Amen!
Is the other guy Trump? I am for Trump.
Yes, Kirby, he’s the best we’ve got, and one should not be unhappy about it.
I’m 69 years old and he’s far and away the best I’ve ever seen.
Love the poem Joe. As a Brit, I don’t really understand American politics, except in the last 4 years I do, as there seems to be some massive convergence in the issues affecting both our countries; and a strange parallelism as well. For BS (and BTW, love that ‘BS’ joke too) seems exactly the equivalent of our Jeremy Corbyn – our Marxist, left wing firebrand – worth approximately £3M actually – pursuing a dreadful, hypocritical ideology that would destroy the country if elected. And of course, your President supports the UK; I cannot imagine BS will. And let’s not forget, BS like JC is so old, so decrepit – why are young people following these pied pipers? Thus, I totally agree with your concise and powerful little sonnet! Keep up the good work – let’s hear a better tune for our two countries!
Looks like right wing poetry.
Every bird needs two wings if it is to fly.
We hear much about the hatred of Donald Trump.
I watched a town hall with him last night and I could see and feel the love coming through the screen.
I realized as well that I love President Trump, and that it a great honor to be the right wing of this high-flying bird.
Those of you who hate him are missing out on so much.
A perfectly pitched poetic warning we should all heed. My late grandfather fought in WWll and I have no intention of insulting his legacy with a misplaced vote.