Modified photo of Sen. Bernie Sanders.A Bernie Sanders Poem: ‘B.S., 2020’ by Joe Tessitore The Society March 4, 2020 Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Humor, Poetry 16 Comments 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. NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets. The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary. CODEC Stories:Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) 16 Responses Peter Hartley March 4, 2020 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 Reply C.B. Anderson March 4, 2020 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. Reply Joe Tessitore March 5, 2020 Thank you, Peter. Reply C.B. Anderson March 5, 2020 Peter, See if you can find a volume from Ivor Winters. I think you will see many such tetrameter sonnets there. Reply James Sale March 5, 2020 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. Reply Sally Cook March 4, 2020 A fine poem, Joe! Congratulations on it. Reply Joe Tessitore March 5, 2020 Thanks, Sally. Reply Joseph S. Salemi March 4, 2020 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. Reply Mike Bryant March 4, 2020 Amen! Reply Kirby Olson March 4, 2020 Is the other guy Trump? I am for Trump. Reply C.B. Anderson March 5, 2020 Yes, Kirby, he’s the best we’ve got, and one should not be unhappy about it. Reply Joe Tessitore March 5, 2020 I’m 69 years old and he’s far and away the best I’ve ever seen. James Sale March 5, 2020 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! Reply John Burciaga March 5, 2020 Looks like right wing poetry. Reply Joe Tessitore March 6, 2020 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. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant March 9, 2020 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. Reply Leave a Reply to Peter Hartley Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Captcha loading...In order to pass the CAPTCHA please enable JavaScript. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email. Δ This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Peter Hartley March 4, 2020 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 Reply
C.B. Anderson March 4, 2020 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. Reply
C.B. Anderson March 5, 2020 Peter, See if you can find a volume from Ivor Winters. I think you will see many such tetrameter sonnets there. Reply
James Sale March 5, 2020 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. Reply
Joseph S. Salemi March 4, 2020 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. Reply
C.B. Anderson March 5, 2020 Yes, Kirby, he’s the best we’ve got, and one should not be unhappy about it. Reply
James Sale March 5, 2020 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! Reply
Joe Tessitore March 6, 2020 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. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant March 9, 2020 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. Reply
