Crimea 2014
And so the Russian bear roars again–
Crimea shakes to the tracks of the tanks –
Putin sits in splendid isolation –
The world looks on and holds collective breath;
The Bald Eagle protests the invasion –
But the Bear is in its backyard fighting –
Invited by Ukraine’s ex-President –
It protects its fish in the cold Black Sea;
The people scream injustice at the act –
The European powers wave tied hands –
The Eagle screeches financial sanctions –
The Bear it senses victory this time;
Gone now the Winter Games in Sochi town –
Herald Cold War games of a bygone age.
Sochi
Carried on the wings of hate the great bear
Flies into Sochi armed with bigotry;
The old icon of hammer and sickle
Casts upon the snow a shadow of lies –
Where homosexuals are paedophiles;
Gays openly and with pride demonstrate –
Only to feel the lash of the horse-whip;
Thrown back to Imperial history
Society struggles to comprehend –
Stuck in the past and unable to change
Propoganda becomes reality;
Pre-judged and condemned for personal choice
The gay competitors hide behind masks –
The friendly games a misnomer for fear.
Alistair Muir hails from Kettering, Northants. He volunteers at a substance misuse program, where he is constantly dismayed by the trappings of drug and alcohol abuse. He posts at verse-virtual.com and creative-poems.com regularly.
George Panagopoulos is an Artist, Writer, and Comedian from Worcester, MA. You won’t catch him pulling punches, he tries to focus on truth above partisan politics. “I want you to be compelled to discuss my stuff, it’s about starting a dialogue, making you reflect, and hopefully laugh”