FRIENDS

FRIENDS

would rather be caught
in bed with Stalin’s girlfriend

than have to suffer
the excruciating torture
of listening to you speak
(“speech” here
an euphemism
for demented droning

poor take
on dictatorial power,
resurrection of Caesarism
if you ask me

so let me
stick to my principles
even risking
the Gulag

Siberian subzeroes
to freeze
my skin to bone

but then
       the intelligence of
fellow inmates, their
loyalty to the ideology

believing
in the system, banking
on the real
possibility

that they could well
survive to serve
as confidants
become
   the Boss’ closest friends