• Submit Poetry
  • Support SCP
  • About Us
  • Members
  • Join
Friday, September 4, 2026
Society of Classical Poets
  • Poems
    • Beauty
    • Culture
    • Satire
    • Humor
    • Children’s
    • Art
    • Ekphrastic
    • Epic
    • Epigrams and Proverbs
    • Human Rights in China
    • Music
    • Performing Arts
    • Riddles
    • Science
    • Song Lyrics
    • The Environment
    • The Raven
    • Found Poems
    • High School Poets
    • Terrorism
    • Covid-19
  • Poetry Forms
    • Sonnet
    • Haiku
    • Limerick
    • Villanelle
    • Rondeau
    • Pantoum
    • Sestina
    • Triolet
    • Acrostic
    • Alexandroid
    • Alliterative
    • Blank Verse
    • Chant Royal
    • Clerihew
    • Rhupunt
    • Rondeau Redoublé
    • Rondel
    • Rubaiyat
    • Sapphic Verse
    • Shape Poems
    • Terza Rima
  • Great Poets
    • Geoffrey Chaucer
    • Emily Dickinson
    • Homer
    • Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
    • Dante Alighieri
    • John Keats
    • John Milton
    • Edgar Allan Poe
    • William Shakespeare
    • William Wordsworth
    • William Blake
    • Robert Frost
  • Love Poems
  • Contests
  • SCP Academy
    • Educational
    • Teaching Classical Poetry—A Guide for Educators
    • Poetry Forms
    • The SCP Journal
    • Books
No Result
View All Result
Society of Classical Poets
  • Poems
    • Beauty
    • Culture
    • Satire
    • Humor
    • Children’s
    • Art
    • Ekphrastic
    • Epic
    • Epigrams and Proverbs
    • Human Rights in China
    • Music
    • Performing Arts
    • Riddles
    • Science
    • Song Lyrics
    • The Environment
    • The Raven
    • Found Poems
    • High School Poets
    • Terrorism
    • Covid-19
  • Poetry Forms
    • Sonnet
    • Haiku
    • Limerick
    • Villanelle
    • Rondeau
    • Pantoum
    • Sestina
    • Triolet
    • Acrostic
    • Alexandroid
    • Alliterative
    • Blank Verse
    • Chant Royal
    • Clerihew
    • Rhupunt
    • Rondeau Redoublé
    • Rondel
    • Rubaiyat
    • Sapphic Verse
    • Shape Poems
    • Terza Rima
  • Great Poets
    • Geoffrey Chaucer
    • Emily Dickinson
    • Homer
    • Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
    • Dante Alighieri
    • John Keats
    • John Milton
    • Edgar Allan Poe
    • William Shakespeare
    • William Wordsworth
    • William Blake
    • Robert Frost
  • Love Poems
  • Contests
  • SCP Academy
    • Educational
    • Teaching Classical Poetry—A Guide for Educators
    • Poetry Forms
    • The SCP Journal
    • Books
No Result
View All Result
Society of Classical Poets
No Result
View All Result
Home Poetry Culture

Three Poems on the Brainwashing of America by Joe Tessitore

August 2, 2017
in Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Humor, Poetry
A A
8
poems Three Poems on the Brainwashing of America by Joe Tessitore

I.

My brain just came back from the laundry
they tell me it’s perfectly clean
and it’s thinking the way it’s supposed to
though I’m not really sure what they mean

They tell me I shouldn’t be troubled
not really a cause for concern
my sessions are soon to be doubled
and there’s nothing they can’t make me learn

They tell me I’m doing quite nicely
better than they would ever expect
pretty soon I’ll be thinking precisely
with a brain that’s politically correct

II.

“Who is that’s knocking at my door?”
__“It’s the thought police and you know what for!”
“Have mercy please, I’m old and daft!”
__“It matters not, you get the shaft!”
“I don’t remember what I did!”
__“We found the thought you thought you hid!”
“Remind me then what that might be!”
__“You thought you lived in the Land of the Free!”

III.

If you’re looking to reinforce your views
If you’re not into facts but obsessed with clues
If reality bores you and gives you the blues
Then you know the channel that you must choose
While l hit the couch and cop me a snooze
And you watch my share of weapons-grade news.

 

Joe Tessitore is a retired New York City resident and poet.

ShareTweetPin
The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary.
Read Our Comments Policy Here

RandomPoems

‘Inklings’: A Poem by P.C. Venable
Beauty

‘Inklings’: A Poem by P.C. Venable

August 16, 2025

. Inklings Shut off that damn brainwashing, numbing screen!Tonight I did. I reached, opened that book.From sentences, the mind gleans...

‘Prayer (5:00 a.m.)’ and Other Poetry by Jeffrey Essmann
Poetry

‘Prayer (5:00 a.m.)’ and Other Poetry by Jeffrey Essmann

March 21, 2026

  Prayer (5:00 a.m.) Some stubborn pain (the world… the past…) Is peeking through the cracks, and all I want...

Next Post
‘Untitled’ and Other Poetry by Phillip Whidden

'Untitled' and Other Poetry by Phillip Whidden

‘Gazing above Daily Cares’ by Daniel Magdalen

'Gazing above Daily Cares' by Daniel Magdalen

How to Write an Alexandroid

How to Write an Alexandroid

Comments 8

  1. Father Richard Libby says:
    9 years ago

    Well done, Mr. Tessitore!

    Reply
    • Joseph Tessitore says:
      9 years ago

      Thank you Father Richard. Here’s another I think you’ll enjoy:

      Holy Communion

      As I consume You
      Lord please consume me
      In the fire of your love
      And may I always be
      An undying ember
      Forever aglow
      In the warmth of the peace
      Only You can bestow

      Reply
      • Father Richard Libby says:
        9 years ago

        WOW! That’s terrific! Congratulations!

        Reply
      • Sally Cook says:
        9 years ago

        Beautiful!

        Reply
    • Rose Marie Luther says:
      9 years ago

      I have Holy cards that I have made of Joseph’s prayer. I distribute them to people at the hospital where I distribute Holy Communion and also it gives great gifts to children receiving their First Holy Communion. If you would like, I can send you a few if you can e-mail your address. Thank you,
      Rose Marie Luther

      Reply
      • Sally Cook says:
        9 years ago

        Great idea. I would like some cards. Don’t know how to request them w/o publishing my e-mail…

        Reply
  2. Sally Cook says:
    9 years ago

    Joe, I like your poems very much. Please let us see more.

    Reply
    • Joe Tessitore says:
      9 years ago

      Dear Sally,

      Thank you very much! I’ll be submitting three more shortly to The Society.

      Joe

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


  1. C.B. Anderson on ‘A Potpourri of Aphoristic Verses’ by C.B. AndersonSeptember 4, 2026

    When you go to McDonald's, Paul, don't order the nuggets. And always keep dog treats in your pocket -- most…

  2. C.B. Anderson on ‘A Potpourri of Aphoristic Verses’ by C.B. AndersonSeptember 4, 2026

    Sometimes, Norma, blinkers are called blinders, and rightly so. But no one should take my advice at face value. Test…

  3. C.B. Anderson on ‘A Potpourri of Aphoristic Verses’ by C.B. AndersonSeptember 4, 2026

    You have my express permission, Yael, to republish these couplets in any form and for any purpose you choose. I'm…

  4. C.B. Anderson on ‘A Potpourri of Aphoristic Verses’ by C.B. AndersonSeptember 4, 2026

    And that is why, Cynthia, sweaters are not always made of wool; sometimes they make them out of cotton, but…

  5. Levi Warren on The Society of Classical Poets 2026 Haiku CompetitionSeptember 4, 2026

    The third piece here is a vivid picture. To write it required not just the ability to communicate the author's…

Subscribe to Daily Poems

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 1,635 other subscribers

Recent Poems

  • ‘The Cristero Centennial’: A Poem by Margaret Coats
  • ‘A Potpourri of Aphoristic Verses’ by C.B. Anderson
  • ‘The Estuary’: A Poem by Jeff Eardley
  • ‘A World Without the Wednesday Child’: A Poem by Kimberly Fore
  • The 2026 Society of Classical Poets International Poetry Competition
  • The 2026 SCP International High School Poetry Competition
  • ‘Realistic Reflections’ and Other Poetry by Anna J. Arredondo
  • ‘China Made’: A Poem by Theresa Werba
  • ‘The Savage Moon’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko
  • Poetry Book Review: Love Found, Yearned For, and Lost by James A. Tweedie
  • ‘When Opportunity Knocks’: A Poem by Roy E. Peterson
  • ‘Legend of the Griffin’: A Poem by Iryna Hall
  • ‘Government Issue’ and Other Poems by Joseph S. Salemi
  • ‘Chaucer Announces His Desire to Retire’: A Poem by Paul A. Freeman
  • ‘Advantages of Restaurants’ and Other Poems by Russel Winick
  • ‘Bone China’: A Poem by Mary Gardner
  • ‘On the Death of One Too Young to Die’: A Poem by Jeffrey Essmann
  • ‘This Too Shall Pass’ and Other Poetry by Justin Dasher
  • ‘Humdrum and Harum-Scarum’: A Lecture on Free Verse, by Robert Bridges (1922)
  • ‘Unrest On the Floodplain’: A Poem by Bhikkhu Nyanasobhano
  • ‘Latitude and Loss’: A Poem by Martin Briggs
  • ‘Act III’ and Other Poetry by C.B. Anderson
  • ‘God’s Funeral’: A Poem by James Sale
  • ‘Star Festival’: A Poem by Margaret Coats
  • ‘Song of the Frog Princess’: A Poem by Scharlie Meeuws
  • ‘The Odyssey: Nolan and Solot Compared’: An Essay by Michael Curtis
  • ‘Solitude’ and Other Poems by Mary Jane Myers
  • ‘The River Not Taken’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko
  • ‘Totentanz’: A Poem by James A. Tweedie
  • ‘In God Is Our Trust’: A Poem by Roy E. Peterson

Categories

  • Acrostic
  • Alexandroid
  • Alliterative
  • Art
  • Best Poems
  • Blank Verse
  • Chant Royal
  • Classical Poets Live
  • Clerihew
  • Covid-19
  • Deconstructing Communism
  • Educational
  • Epic
  • Epigrams and Proverbs
  • Essays
    • Interviews with Poets
    • Poetry Reviews
  • Featured
  • From the Society
  • Great Poets
    • Dante Alighieri
    • Edgar Allan Poe
    • Emily Dickinson
    • Geoffrey Chaucer
    • Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
    • Homer
    • John Keats
    • John Milton
    • Robert Frost
    • William Blake
    • William Shakespeare
    • William Wordsworth
  • Human Rights in China
  • Limerick
  • Love Poems
  • Music
  • Pantoum
  • Performing Arts
  • Poetry
    • Beauty
    • Children's Poems
    • Culture
    • Ekphrastic
    • Found Poems
    • High School Poets
    • Humor
    • Riddles
  • Poetry Challenge
  • Poetry Contests
  • Poetry Forms
    • Curtal Sonnet
    • Haiku
  • Poetry Readings
  • Rhupunt
  • Rondeau
  • Rondeau Redoublé
  • Rondel
  • Rubaiyat
  • Sapphic Verse
  • Satire
  • Science
  • Sestina
  • Shape Poems
  • Short Stories
  • Song Lyrics
  • Sonnet
  • Symposium
  • Terrorism
  • Terza Rima
  • The Environment
  • Translation
  • Triolet
  • Video
  • Villanelle

Quick Links

  • About Us
  • Submit Poetry
  • Become a Member
  • Members List
  • Support the Society
  • Advertisement Placement
  • Comments Policy
  • Terms of Use

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Poems
    • Beauty
    • Culture
    • Satire
    • Humor
    • Children’s
    • Art
    • Ekphrastic
    • Epic
    • Epigrams and Proverbs
    • Human Rights in China
    • Music
    • Performing Arts
    • Riddles
    • Science
    • Song Lyrics
    • The Environment
    • The Raven
    • Found Poems
    • High School Poets
    • Terrorism
    • Covid-19
  • Poetry Forms
    • Sonnet
    • Haiku
    • Limerick
    • Villanelle
    • Rondeau
    • Pantoum
    • Sestina
    • Triolet
    • Acrostic
    • Alexandroid
    • Alliterative
    • Blank Verse
    • Chant Royal
    • Clerihew
    • Rhupunt
    • Rondeau Redoublé
    • Rondel
    • Rubaiyat
    • Sapphic Verse
    • Shape Poems
    • Terza Rima
  • Great Poets
    • Geoffrey Chaucer
    • Emily Dickinson
    • Homer
    • Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
    • Dante Alighieri
    • John Keats
    • John Milton
    • Edgar Allan Poe
    • William Shakespeare
    • William Wordsworth
    • William Blake
    • Robert Frost
  • Love Poems
  • Contests
  • SCP Academy
    • Educational
    • Teaching Classical Poetry—A Guide for Educators
    • Poetry Forms
    • The SCP Journal
    • Books

© 2025 SCP. WebDesign by CODEC Prime.