“The Russians Are Coming” and Other Poems

by Sparrow

From our 2018 art calendar, dedicated to the theme of music

THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING

The Russians are coming;
the Russians are coming.
They stole our election,
and they are drumming.

The Russians are drumming;
the Russians are drumming.
The president hears them,
and he is humming.

The president’s humming;
the president’s humming.
He is in love with
the Russians’ drumming.

The Russians are drumming;
the Russians are drumming;
I hear their music and
it is numbing.

O Russians,
O Russians,
stop rushing;
stop rushing!
Go slower;
go slower.
Stop gushing;
stop gushing!

The Russians are drumming;
the Russians are drumming;
they’re drumming so hard
that it’s shaking the plumbing.

MANIFESTO

Anyone
can be a
musician;

all you
have to
do is
sing
this
poem.

STRANGE FACT

Doris Day could sing perfectly in Polish.

SIX SONGS LONG

Some nights are so long
that you write a song,
then another song,
then another song,
then three more songs.

Some nights are six songs long.
Six songs long.
Six songs long.

Then dawn comes, and
you forget the songs.
You sit alone,
without a song,
drinking the juice
of an orange.

Six songs gone.
Six songs gone.

THE LIFE OF BIRDS

At night, birds forget they are birds.
They think they’re trees.

Then dawn comes, and they
remember who they are.

Remembering, they sing.

MUSICAL EQUATION

JohnGeorge PaulRingo
GeorgePaul RingoJohn
RingoGeorge PaulJohn
JohnRingo PaulGeorge

MANIFESTO

Birdsong
taught me
brevity.

A WISH

This poem
could use

some backup
singers.

Sparrow plays ocarina in the non-Euclidean pop band Foamola. He wrote for us recently on Bazooka Joe Comics and their fortunes and shared “Poetry for Donald Trump.” Follow him on Twitter (@Sparrow14). His How to Survive the Coming Collapse of Civilization (And Other Helpful Hints) is available at our Pushcart.