Poetry corner--of death!

Most people don't know that Communist poetry equals reading fun. Not because it has any of the qualities associated with good poetry, of course, but because the typical socialist Ode to the Downtrodden has a single, profound, artistic aim: to demonstrate the moral splendor of the poet.

Family and friends enjoy it when I point such things out, so others will too. Here, for example, is a poem I found at the League of Revolutionaries for a New America (one of many "stabs" at poetry on the site). It's by a guy going under the name of Tony Robles, and it's called, simply, Sister Anna:

"Can you give me a dollar for something to eat?"
sister Anna walks on Market Street
draped in a dirty blanket
it's cold people walk by

she's a big lady her belly,
a bag of yesterdays
of dreams
of raindrops

A belly full

Yes, sister Anna's belly is full of dreams, and raindrops, and good stuff like that. But now Robles spots another big-bellied symbol--this one of our planet-destroying consumer culture:

somewhere up the street, a
santa jiggles his fat,
a shakedown illusion.

Already raggin' on Santa, who hasn't even tried to stem a buck from him. Anyway, Robles gives sister Anna the dollar, apparently without making her listen to his poetry, and muses:

I know, the world got hard of hearing
all of a sudden
But sister Anna,
your voice is the warmest on the block
Because of you this city is
a little warmer this morning

A little warmer

Yeah, right. Being accosted by a psychotic in a filthy blanket is definitely everyone's favorite day-brightener. And notice how Robles' love for the big dirty crazy lady doesn't quite extend to getting her some help. He'd rather use her as an object for self-congratulation: out of all of us in the heartless city only he hears sister Anna, only he gives sister Anna a buck, only he can see that sister Anna is just like Mary Tyler Moore. In short, Tony Robles is quite a guy.

And that's the point: Tony Robles is quite a guy. He wants you to know that. And the League of Revolutionaries for a New America is only too glad to spread the word.