Author's Notes: This polemic poem entitled: "King Vlad Redux -- Second Cold War," is a sequel to the very first poem I posted on PoetrySoup on August 9th this year, named: "King Vlad." I know that some readers with my first poem probably thought I was writing about Vlad Tepes -- the historical Dracula, vice my real subject: President Vladimir Putin of Russia who President George W. Bush informally referred to, in former times, as his friend "Vlad," and could supposedly "see his very soul." Nevertheless, my topic then, and the topic of this poem now is on President Putin and his continued role in violating international law and accepted norms of behavior, and his undeniable role in negatively shaping and influencing the terrible events continuing to unfold in the Ukraine and beyond. This poem further amplifies the poetic theme I presented in my first "King Vlad" poem, and goes a step further in viewing Putin's current international mischief and misbehavior as part of his greater plan to confront the West and the Free World in general with the seeming intent of creating a new Second Cold War. This is also his prelude oriented toward bringing Russia back to the days of the old Soviet Union with no freedom, no democracy, no real economy; henceforth, a retrograde back to the Stone Age. With all this, Putin wants to take Russia back to the dark past of former Soviet times, and not lead her into the future with a sense of good governance, enlightenment, and respect for other nations and people. The ingredients are all here for a Second Cold War. I hope readers will find this poem to be of interest. (I used to work as a Soviet Specialist, among other things, when I was with the U.S. military and U.S. government.) And so my take here is based on professional insight and experience -- and not emotion. The freedom that we all have as poets and writers would be greatly restricted, if not, nonexistent -- if we lived in Putin's "New Russia." Something to think about!! (Gary Bateman - November 30, 2014) (Unrhymed Quatrain poetic format)
Categories: betrayal, corruption, discrimination, evil, international, political, and war.