Lawrence Hall, HSG
Mhall46184@aol.com

                              The Heirs of the Heirs of Stalin


                   But how remove Stalin’s heirs from Stalin!

                          -Yevtushenko, “The Heirs of Stalin”


The heirs of the heirs of Stalin

Fat boys fly Come and Take It flags on their cheeseburgers
Their double cheeseburgers with fat fistfuls of freedom fries
John Wayne-ing lines from Fort Apache and The Green Berets
Taking their orders from QAnon and Fox

The heirs of the heirs of Stalin

Beefcake their *** toys in 5.56
They love the man who threatens their lives and wives
They kneel and grovel to him; they would ****** for him
Moulder in prison for him – and he would never notice them

The heirs of the heirs of Stalin

Whoop that their Leader is anointed of Jesus, that he saves
(His limousine will rumble over their poor graves)

Lawrence Hall, HSG
Mhall46184@aol.com

                     Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump Schedule a Debate

                   “No, sir, I do not bite my dentures at you, sir;
                     but I bite my dentures, sir.”

               -as a brawler in Romeo and Juliet I.i.57 does not say

Neither man is a coherent talker -
This might end as combat by walker

Lawrence Hall, HSG
Mhall46184@aol.com

                       Love Abandoned Along a Desert Road

                                Cf. Shakespeare, Sonnet 51

I wonder if my love forgave me at all
For tossing my sleeping bag, my books, my clothes
My typewriter and my dreams into my old MG
And pointing everything west into the sun

Shakespeare speaks of a slow return to her
But I stopped at the Pacific, and lingered for years
A few ‘phone calls from far away, some letters
And then forever silence

Relationships are not covered by a funeral pall

But still

I wonder if my love forgave me at all

Lawrence Hall, HSG
Mhall46184@aol.com

                   Would You Like to Go for a Coffee with Me?

The sweetest words that anyone ever spoke
Were not by Shakespeare, no, not even he
But by many a shy and nervous bloke:
Would you like to go for a coffee with me?

Even Romeo would squeak it in a trembling voice
Fearing, hoping what might her answer be
Oh, what will be her answer, her pleasure, her choice:
Would you like to go for a coffee with me?

For a cup of coffee is a communion shared
A moment when friends make a discovery
Of a vision and gentle thoughts now paired:
Would you like to go for a coffee with me?

Oh, yes

The sweetest invitation that ever could be:
Would you like to go for a coffee with me?

14 May 2024

Lawrence Hall, HSG
Mhall46184@aol.com

                  Shakespeare Didn’t Drive a Clapped-Out MGA

                                  Cf. Shakespeare, Sonnet 49

A time will come when you will audit me:
My prospects as a husband and provider
The possibilities of a comfortable home
And maybe the Mercedes you deserve

I amuse you now, but not for long:
A studio apartment with a rabbit-ears TV
A hideaway bed for frolics in the afternoon
Sale-table wine and Bugler-rolled joints

Not quite Rod McKuen, to my dismay:
It’s not if but when you go away

Lawrence Hall, HSG
Mhall46184@aol.com

                                    After a Night of Thunderstorms

The zinnias are rich with the works of the bee
Meanwhile the mosquitoes are working on me!

Lawrence Hall, HSG
Mhall46184@aol.com

                                            Schrodinger’s Lover

                                      Cf. Shakespeare, Sonnet 48

I have always kept things carefully hidden
Especially the secrets of my heart
But a lover cannot be secreted away
Nor would anyone want this to be so

And because you are no one’s possession
You cannot be kept from the gaze of the world
Locked away in a metaphorical box
Because of anyone’s inappropriate fears

I have always kept things carefully hidden
But you, brave happy spirit, will not be bidden