Fear and Posing in Crimea

Talking heads and journalistic birds,

bobbing in Black Sea swells on Crimean words,

launch up their blustery speculations now

on Putinistic confrontations, and how

the old bear's been backed into a corner, no wiggle room, no loans,

as the world squeals sanctionistic noise and diplomatic moans;

so the West draws its red line in the sands,

no more Ukraine for you Mister Putin; here it stands.



Gone is former glory of the Russian realm,

now no czar, no Lenin, nor Stalin at the helm.

We dismembered their Soviet empire back in '89;

then thinking it some victorious Kapitalistic sign,

we assumed they'd just get it in the blinking of an eye:

the Kapitalist manifesto and the democratic pie--

how to slice it how to dice it-- how, in all this Western fiat money

we'd sweeten Ukrainian bread with IMF honey.



Now we wonder if it be some ghostly rerun, this acquisition,

a la Sudetan land grab or nineteen thirties Rhineland nazi occupation.

But Putin says t'was nazis who yanked those Maidan's strings,

'though we think 'tis from the fount of democracy hope Ukrainel springs.

Now History repeateth not itself; this is no warmed-over fascist rerun;

rather, its the old desperate Russian bear, brandishing his post-glasnost gun,

because his big Soviet one was unloaded, by Ronnie Reagan.



CR, with new novel soon, Smoke