i have heard stories of another time places 
and circumstances i am told of
hundreds, even thousands
of blocked evictions and blocked auctions
of times when the first cry upon seeing the
sheriff in the neighborhood or territory....
"where are the reds?", those unemployed
organized and led by communists, many 
of them veterans of that first great war 
the latest to date and not the last to come
of veterans without food, clothing, shelter
many others with black skin and seeing
white folks for the first time joining the club
traditionally thought to be the territory
of "the colored"  and rather than saying
in bitterness and sarcasm "welcome to the
club" simply joined in with the veterans
often led the veterans  often were the reds
to restore the furniture back into the apartment 
or farmhouse or ozzie-and-harriet and cleaver
family homes  and of auctioneers being offered
a quarter "two bits" by one of the many farmers
surrounding him and the deputies. "two bits....sold 
to the highest bidder" as the neighbors began
placing the furniture back where it belonged
and often it started with a question of supplication
"where are the reds"  this question was asked
and answered thousands of times in the troubled
cities of heroic people in that day. 

now is a different time with different jobs 
housing arrangements  education and other
things not available then and becoming
increasingly less available now and driving
us all back to then  poverty  always racism
all the time warfare of which of course
is fought out of necessity for the security
of the rich [ you haven't seen much of
that lately].

and i too have a dream of being sleepless
thinking about these  things
and replacing the counting of sheep
with visions of one red army marching
in our land......two red armies.....three

and when i awake it's to a voice asking
sometimes softly, other times harsh
"where are the reds?"

december 2010
berkeley ca

gary hicks