.

Not What He Thinks

All my success
An old friend said
Has clearly gone
Straight to the head.

I’ll grant that, but
Judged by chagrin
It’s his head my
Success is in.

.

.

Rachel Dolezal

Poor Rachel had a very basic problem,
She’d spent her life pretending to be Black.
And when her sad charade had been discovered,
She met with a vociferous attack.

She answered being Black was her identity,
But still she was accused of culture theft.
Though if she had identified as male,
She’d be a superstar among the Left.

.

.

The Motorcycle

My son chose to purchase a cycle—his first,
Though I wish he had done what I said.
I do trust his judgment, but still fear the worst.
I had asked him to wait till I’m dead.

.

.

Russel Winick recently started writing poetry at nearly age 65, after ending a long legal career. He resides in Naperville, Illinois.

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19 Responses

  1. Susan Jarvis Bryant

    Russel, your poems are a much-needed smile in a world of misery and mayhem… I love them! I particularly like, “Rachel Dolezal” – you have the knack of making a very valid point, highlighting insidious idiocy, and still raising a laugh. Thank you very much!

    Reply
    • Cynthia Erlandson

      Susan, you need to use your phrase “insidious idiocy” in a poem! I love it!

      Reply
    • Russel Winick

      Thanks Susan. Any approbation always assuages the angst extant. Especially from you!

      Reply
  2. Cynthia Erlandson

    Every one of these made me laugh, Russel! Thanks — I needed that!

    Reply
  3. Joseph S. Salemi

    Dolezal has lied through her teeth so many times that I doubt if she herself even knows what she is. But then again, look at Elizabeth Warren (our very own Faux-cahontas).

    Reply
  4. Paul Freeman

    The Rachel Dolezal case was interesting. And yet a few days ago everyone was Irish.

    As always, Russel, thank you for some incisive reads that are always much more than their sum.

    Reply
  5. Brian Yapko

    Russel, all three of these poems are both witty and deeply observant. I especially like your calling out of leftist hypocrisy in your Rachel Dolezal poem (although I was perfectly content to have forgotten all about her.) I never fail to be astonished that so many people on the left think chromosomes are merely suggestions.

    Reply
  6. Shaun C. Duncan

    These are great, Russel – witty and very much to the point. I found the Dolezal case quite amusing and extremely illuminating as to the realities of race-relations today. That kind of racial hustling is quite common in Australia and you potentially face a prison sentence for pointing it out, as one of our journalists discovered a few years ago.

    Reply
    • Margaret Coats

      Shaun, do you mean that Australians can claim aboriginal identity with little or nothing to back up the claim, and then expect the courts to imprison anyone who points out their posturing?

      Reply
      • Joseph S. Salemi

        Cherchez l’argent. If you can claim status as a member of one of the “protected classes” (i.e. black, brown, Amerindian, Hispanic, aborigine, feminist-female, or any varietal of the LGBT freak scene) there are a great many advantages and financial perks to which you are legally entitled. In some fields, like academia, your career will be made, with no questions asked.

      • Shaun C. Duncan

        Yes, that’s essentially the situation here Margaret, though honestly I don’t know what the real likelihood of anyone actually going to jail would be.

        Virtually no evidence is required to claim Aboriginal identity and questioning one’s claims has been found by courts to be in violation of our racial vilification laws which do in principle allow for prison sentences, but are generally only used to censor.

    • Russel Winick

      Thanks Shaun. I’m sorry to hear about the lunacy in your country.

      Reply
  7. David Watt

    Russel, your witty trio make for entertaining reading. ‘Rachel Dolezal’ is also my favorite because it highlights an absurd leftist truth.

    Reply
    • Russel Winick

      Thank you David. I’m glad you enjoyed them. The illogical makes for a natural target.

      Reply
  8. Margaret Coats

    Russel, speaking of identity, you are able to identify little points that might give flair to a poem, and then to make each point in suitable meter and rhyme. All of these reveal your two-edged talent!

    Reply

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