Joe Dolce: Two Poems

If Good News Sold Newspapers

If good news sold newspapers

murder would make page 3

as headlines shouted VLAD PUTIN

HAD TWO BLINTZES TODAY WITH TEA

Bulletin Just In: THE SUN

IS PERFECTLY ROUND AGAIN

paparazzi would photograph lovers

holding hands along the Seine

Politics compressed as an insert

in the middle and never repeated

or recycled as wrapping for fish & chips

for any who much cared to read it

the serial killers and rapists

expensive bottles of Grange

would never even rate a banner

just a box on the crosswords page

pasty-faced brokers and businessmen

with ponzi schemes and lies

would go after the cartoon strips

or be buried in Classifieds

now imagine poetry as Breaking News!

on Page One: Chagall and Boyd

if good news sold newspapers

we’d all be less paranoid.

Joe Dolce

The Red Napoleon

or his own preferred name for himself

General of Peace Võ Nguyên Giáp

the grand brother of Uncle Ho’s army

led Viet Minh guerillas

against Japanese invaders during WWII

against French against Americans

compared to Cyrus the Great

Chandragupta of India studied Mao

applied lessons to anti-colonialist struggle

communism grafted onto a national rootstock

educated in law taught history worked as a journalist

enjoyed Goethe Shakespeare Tolstoy

some popular quotes:

the enemy does not possess the psychological

and physical means to fight a long drawn out war

father arrested by French and died in prison

wife arrested by French and died in prison

re-married—five children

Americans think: pawns of government

Vietnamese think: united with government

General Giáp had a fiery temper a dandy

dressed in white suit vs Ho car-tire sandals & shorts

was criticized repeatedly for excessive verbosity of writing style

no formal military training he joked

I attended the academy of the bush

invented the Ho Chi Minh trail

died October 4th  2013

102 years of age.

Joe Dolce