The cartoon at left echoes a question I remember hearing in my youth. Truth be told, it has the flavor of wonderful iambic pentameter rhythm (minus half a foot). Its rhythmic nature pretty much guarantees it’s a line I’ll love!

Not long ago, I got to thinking about an answer and I automatically related it to the historic occasion when this question took center stage. In full, the question was: Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of the Communist Party?

Readers who are younger than me might not remember this question being repeatedly asked by Senator Joseph McCarthy during a series of hearings into potential Communist infiltration of government. A polarizing figure, McCarthy’s name became synonymous with the practice of leveling unfair accusations (without supporting evidence) to quash dissent. While McCarthy was a sincere anti-Communist, his tactics were considered outrageous by some, while others believed only that his methods were detrimental to forwarding the anti-Communist cause. I’ll let you decide for yourself which it was.

Today, I offer a sonnet which attempts to answer the question by stating something about who I am. Yes, it’s a bit tongue-in-cheek, and yes, it’s only a glimpse at who I really am, but the poem does provide a window into my world (and my borderline misanthropy).