‘Go Woke, Go Broke’ and Other Poems by Russel Winick The Society May 15, 2024 Poetry, Satire 22 Comments . Go Woke, Go Broke Sports Illustrated’s prize was doing great. Big bucks each year from the swimsuit edition. But then it seemed keen to alienate Its loyal customers with a new mission— Put old, or fat, or trans folks on the cover, With no idea that might be a gaffe, As it was later shocked—shocked—to discover! And now it’s letting go much of the staff. . . Leftist Summary of Existential Climate Disaster Due to climate change __The whole wide world __Will soon be toast. And it’s beyond dispute __Minorities __Will be hurt most. . . Contemporary Question Speaking to the young cashier the older chap, Said pleasantly how good-looking she was. The woman seemed offended – generation gap? Or somehow what a leftist worldview does? . . No Pretense About His Defense An old friend once played in the NBA. One question he’s been asked up to this day – Was there a time he guarded Michael Jordan? His answer summarizes that misfortune: “Yes, there were several times I had to do it, But I don’t think that Michael ever knew it.” . . Image The image that I carefully create, And nurture to sustain upon exam, I hope someday to fully replicate, So it can be exactly what I am. . . Russel Winick recently started writing poetry after ending a long legal career. He resides in Naperville, Illinois. 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. 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)Trending now: 22 Responses Roy Eugene Peterson May 15, 2024 You have continued your fine and true tradition of writing pointed poignant humorous poems that both titillate and exhilarate, including the first one when I learned SI let go a lot of their staff that had no concept of marketing and were intent on their leftist fantasies. Each of these was succinct and meaningful. Reply Russel Winick May 15, 2024 Thank you Roy. Last I heard, they were doing 9 different covers this year. Reply Joseph S. Salemi May 15, 2024 Besides the trannie Kim Petras fiasco, and the putting of other unattractive freaks on the magazine’s cover, there was the revelation that Artificial Intelligence was being used to write some of the articles. We don’t need Sports Illustrated anymore. Let it go down the drain. Reply Russel Winick May 16, 2024 For decades I subscribed to Sports Illustrated to place in my law firm’s waiting area. I would always glance at the Swimsuit Edition’s cover to see the beautiful model. To each their own, but there would be no glancing by me anymore. Reply Phil S. Rogers May 15, 2024 Short, to the point, and a pleasure to read. Especially liked the humor in No Pretense About His Defense. Go Woke Go Broke, hits a nerve. Having been on a company’s board of directors for many years it is mystifying why huge organizations like Sports Illustrated, Anheuser Bush, Target, etc. are not smart enough to stay out of the political arena and just market their product to all. Reply Russel Winick May 15, 2024 Thanks Phil. This is one of those situations where I find it regrettable that the fiduciary duty rules provide virtually no protection for stockholders. Reply Cynthia Erlandson May 15, 2024 Good thoughts, and good fun, Russel! Reply Russel Winick May 15, 2024 Thanks Cynthia, for your always kind comments. Reply James Sale May 16, 2024 Particularly like your Go Woke, Go Broke poem, Russell – so true and let’s hope lots more examples come into the public domain soon – and you get some more poetry out of these sad saps!! Reply Russel Winick May 16, 2024 Thank you James – a compliment from you means quite a bit. I’ll keep trying to depict what is discovered. Reply Margaret Coats May 16, 2024 Russel, I like the logical disjunction between the parts of your “Leftist Summary.” If the whole wide world will soon be toast, it cannot be that anyone will be more burnt than another. You could have used “Complimentary Question” as the title for “Contemporary Question.” The leftist world view has left women of all ages ill at ease about accepting compliments, even when they appreciate them. Many fear that some diehard leftist will see a smile or hear a “thank you” and condemn the woman. This even happens with accepting little courtesies like opening doors, giving up a seat, or offering help to lift something heavy. My practice is to add a sweet honorific “sir” to my “thank you” with a smile. Congratulations on your “Image” creation! You could also reflect the inner desire to live up to one’s ideal of self by saying, “So I can be exactly who I am.” Your wording says it with another perspective, and both are admirable. Reply Russel Winick May 16, 2024 Margaret – I always love your feedback, because you see EVERYTHING, sometimes even things I didn’t see myself. You are right about the title to “Contemporary Question – either would have been good. I witnessed the interaction depicted in that poem, and never understood it until reading your explanation. Thank you! But the biggest thanks is for your feedback on “Image.” I was hoping Evan would accept that poem in part because I was curious as to what you might say about it if he did. That’s a fact! And you certainly did not disappoint! Reply Julian D. Woodruff May 18, 2024 Very witty, Russel. I guess MJ’s awareness of your friend (& most other defenders) was like a jet passenger’s awareness of the Rockies beneath the cloud layer. Reply Russel Winick May 18, 2024 Thanks Julian, for the kind remark and the apt analogy. Reply Adam Wasem May 19, 2024 Re: Go Woke, Go Broke, as my wife was just saying yesterday about all the former purveyors of attractiveness in print and in retail: I don’t want to see what I actually look like in those clothes, I want to see what I could look like. So said after her recent trip to Victoria’s Secret. And lo and behold, after a 4-year hiatus imposed by the woke, Victoria’s Secret is reviving its old supermodel lingerie shows, no doubt to the great relief of its customers and investors alike. Reply Russel Winick May 20, 2024 Thanks Adam. And best wishes to your wife! Reply David Whippman May 20, 2024 The first three poems sum up much of what is wrong with this society at the moment. You said it with humour, and we certainly need that, with all that’s going on in the world. Reply Russel Winick May 20, 2024 Thanks David, and you’re right. No matter how crazy things get, it always pays to try to create humor. Reply Janice Canerdy May 20, 2024 Witty, realistic poems that say so much in so few words! “Go Woke . . . ” made me think of the old expression “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”! Obviously, SI thought it needed fixin’. “No Pretense . . . ” ~~ big smile! Reply Russel Winick May 20, 2024 Thank you Janice, for your lovely feedback. Reply Joshua C. Frank May 23, 2024 All these are great! My favorite is “Contemporary Question,” because it’s so true! It seems that everyone’s trying to appeal to the younger generations, most of whom have already been assimilated into the leftist collective. I’m afraid it won’t be “go woke, go broke” once the older generations become less and less a part of the population. Reply Russel Winick May 23, 2024 Thanks Josh, I share that fear, big time. And if you haven’t already, see Margaret’s explanation (above) regarding the interaction described in “Contemporary Question,” which certainly enlightened me. Reply Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website 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.
Roy Eugene Peterson May 15, 2024 You have continued your fine and true tradition of writing pointed poignant humorous poems that both titillate and exhilarate, including the first one when I learned SI let go a lot of their staff that had no concept of marketing and were intent on their leftist fantasies. Each of these was succinct and meaningful. Reply
Russel Winick May 15, 2024 Thank you Roy. Last I heard, they were doing 9 different covers this year. Reply
Joseph S. Salemi May 15, 2024 Besides the trannie Kim Petras fiasco, and the putting of other unattractive freaks on the magazine’s cover, there was the revelation that Artificial Intelligence was being used to write some of the articles. We don’t need Sports Illustrated anymore. Let it go down the drain. Reply
Russel Winick May 16, 2024 For decades I subscribed to Sports Illustrated to place in my law firm’s waiting area. I would always glance at the Swimsuit Edition’s cover to see the beautiful model. To each their own, but there would be no glancing by me anymore. Reply
Phil S. Rogers May 15, 2024 Short, to the point, and a pleasure to read. Especially liked the humor in No Pretense About His Defense. Go Woke Go Broke, hits a nerve. Having been on a company’s board of directors for many years it is mystifying why huge organizations like Sports Illustrated, Anheuser Bush, Target, etc. are not smart enough to stay out of the political arena and just market their product to all. Reply
Russel Winick May 15, 2024 Thanks Phil. This is one of those situations where I find it regrettable that the fiduciary duty rules provide virtually no protection for stockholders. Reply
James Sale May 16, 2024 Particularly like your Go Woke, Go Broke poem, Russell – so true and let’s hope lots more examples come into the public domain soon – and you get some more poetry out of these sad saps!! Reply
Russel Winick May 16, 2024 Thank you James – a compliment from you means quite a bit. I’ll keep trying to depict what is discovered. Reply
Margaret Coats May 16, 2024 Russel, I like the logical disjunction between the parts of your “Leftist Summary.” If the whole wide world will soon be toast, it cannot be that anyone will be more burnt than another. You could have used “Complimentary Question” as the title for “Contemporary Question.” The leftist world view has left women of all ages ill at ease about accepting compliments, even when they appreciate them. Many fear that some diehard leftist will see a smile or hear a “thank you” and condemn the woman. This even happens with accepting little courtesies like opening doors, giving up a seat, or offering help to lift something heavy. My practice is to add a sweet honorific “sir” to my “thank you” with a smile. Congratulations on your “Image” creation! You could also reflect the inner desire to live up to one’s ideal of self by saying, “So I can be exactly who I am.” Your wording says it with another perspective, and both are admirable. Reply
Russel Winick May 16, 2024 Margaret – I always love your feedback, because you see EVERYTHING, sometimes even things I didn’t see myself. You are right about the title to “Contemporary Question – either would have been good. I witnessed the interaction depicted in that poem, and never understood it until reading your explanation. Thank you! But the biggest thanks is for your feedback on “Image.” I was hoping Evan would accept that poem in part because I was curious as to what you might say about it if he did. That’s a fact! And you certainly did not disappoint! Reply
Julian D. Woodruff May 18, 2024 Very witty, Russel. I guess MJ’s awareness of your friend (& most other defenders) was like a jet passenger’s awareness of the Rockies beneath the cloud layer. Reply
Adam Wasem May 19, 2024 Re: Go Woke, Go Broke, as my wife was just saying yesterday about all the former purveyors of attractiveness in print and in retail: I don’t want to see what I actually look like in those clothes, I want to see what I could look like. So said after her recent trip to Victoria’s Secret. And lo and behold, after a 4-year hiatus imposed by the woke, Victoria’s Secret is reviving its old supermodel lingerie shows, no doubt to the great relief of its customers and investors alike. Reply
David Whippman May 20, 2024 The first three poems sum up much of what is wrong with this society at the moment. You said it with humour, and we certainly need that, with all that’s going on in the world. Reply
Russel Winick May 20, 2024 Thanks David, and you’re right. No matter how crazy things get, it always pays to try to create humor. Reply
Janice Canerdy May 20, 2024 Witty, realistic poems that say so much in so few words! “Go Woke . . . ” made me think of the old expression “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”! Obviously, SI thought it needed fixin’. “No Pretense . . . ” ~~ big smile! Reply
Joshua C. Frank May 23, 2024 All these are great! My favorite is “Contemporary Question,” because it’s so true! It seems that everyone’s trying to appeal to the younger generations, most of whom have already been assimilated into the leftist collective. I’m afraid it won’t be “go woke, go broke” once the older generations become less and less a part of the population. Reply
Russel Winick May 23, 2024 Thanks Josh, I share that fear, big time. And if you haven’t already, see Margaret’s explanation (above) regarding the interaction described in “Contemporary Question,” which certainly enlightened me. Reply