Fidel

In the wake of all the political upheaval, I have a question...

Where have you gone, Fidel?

Did you take Che with you?

Did you flee to Valhalla

to sleep for ever with

Washington, Bolivar, and Minh?

Raoul rides your coattails

and Gandhi is dead.

Where have you gone, Fidel?

Robespierre's cafes are empty;

there is plenty of space.

So please Fidel, have a drink

with me: the hour is late

and it is cold outside.

Lenin and Lee watch from heaven

as you forget yourself

and rebels fight unaided.

Anonymous screams his million lungs out,

futilely seeking a peace he does not want

while his Iranian, Egyptian, Libyan brothers

languish among the hashtags,

billyclubs, and bullets.

Where are you, Fidel?

I waited for you, while

Mubarakadinijadaffi's thugs

kicked my teeth in,

gassed me,

killed me,

     for having a cell phone

     for being a modern woman

     for having an eduction

     for believing in my rights,

     for standing up to tyranny.

I waited for you, Fidel,

but you never came

wading out of the Red Sea into Sinai,

or out of the Jajrood into Tehran,

or out of the Mediterranean into Tripoli;

but there were no Times reporters,

no CNMBBCOX cameras,

so I don't blame you for hiding.

I guess I shouldn't have expected

you to show up for 

the Twitter Rebellions, to fight for

Face Time with Anonymous.

It makes sense, because

after all:

the revolution will not be televised.

Author's Note

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Reviews

you describe a well written piece, like the imagery.

[Demi Rose]

it is a romantic treat i seldom get to savor. thank u for the magical details. they completely swept me away. not sure if that was right how i perceived it but still amazingly done.