A Poem for Bernie Sanders

The Godfather of Democratic Socialism Fights Fascists

My Fellow Democracy Defenders,

Feel the Bern! My hero Bernie Sanders has joined Substack. He has been fighting fascism longer than many of us have been alive. We need to seize the AI companies from the billionaire broligarchs. I have written a poem for him in honor of his wisdom and bravery.

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In shadowed halls where wealth is stacked, the oligarchs convene,
With private jets and yachts afloat, they orchestrate the scene.
They buy the airwaves, buy the votes, and hoard the people’s bread,
While workers sleep in cars outside, forgotten and unfed.

And from the wings a cry ascends, a bitter, angry sound,
Of MAGAt mobs and iron fists to tear the system down.
A demagogue who stokes the fear, who points at those who bleed,
And offers up a tyranny built upon division’s seed.

But standing in the capital, a rumpled, graying man,
With finger raised and Brooklyn grit, Bernie Sanders takes the broader stand.
He does not bend to billionaire demands or kingly whims,
But speaks of solidarity and what a nation wins.

“Not socialism of the state,” he cries above the noise,
“Not iron boots or secret police to strip away our choice.
But democratic rights for all, a roof above the head,
And healthcare as a human right, not luxury for the fed.”

He points his finger at the few who hoard the nation’s toll,
The billionaires who think the state exists to serve their soul.
“You cannot have a democracy where wealth writes all the laws,
While working people fight and bleed for a collapsing cause.”

He turns upon the rising right, the fascistic appeal,
And shows the working class the boot that hides beneath the heel.
“They blame the immigrant, the poor, for what your bosses took,
But look behind the curtain, friends, and see who writes the book.”

He calls for strikes and union halls, for ballot and for voice,
To let the people steer the ship, not oligarchs by choice.
For FDR is in his mind, the New Deal in his chest,
A government that works for all, not just the wealthy blessed.

So stands the senator from Vermont against the surging tide,
Where oligarchs and autocrats would tear the world aside.
His cry is not of “I alone,” but “Us, together, stand,”
A democratic socialist, who trusts the public’s hand.

FEEL THE BERN!