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Wonderful story
of Gus Hall
in the prison yard,
heart of McCarthyism fifties

told over and over again
inside the Party in later years
no one sure if it really happened,
embroidered, or made
out of whole cloth,

in the end
maybe doesn't matter,
having taken on
aura of working class myth

like the coal miner who shouted
you can't mine coal with bayonets,

or the textile worker's
we want bread, but we want
roses too,

Gus playing baseball in the yard,
tough looking Italian guy
asking him who he is
and what's he in for,

he says, Gus Hall,
a leader of the Communist Party,

—advocating the overthrow
of the government—
real poppycock,

(actually we were taking a stand
against the banks and corporations)

the guy standing back
a minute, marone,
scratching his head
as he calls his friends over,

Gus there,
third day in the yard,
not yet knowing
what to expect,

bracing for the worst, perhaps,
hoping for the best,

but knowing enough that,
whatever happens, as in the steel mill,
the important thing is
to stand one's ground

then, just as quickly
as he asked the question,
the same guy goes on
to introduce him
to others in the yard

as if he was head
of some rival tribe
he had not yet heard of
and worthy of some respect,

head of the bank robbers
meet Gus Hall,
head of the Communist Party,
head of the fencers
meet Gus Hall,
head of the Communist party,
head of the numbers runners,
meet Gus Hall,
head of the Communist Party

and so on
and so forth
until it was time
for roll call.

Later, after the others leave,
one guy who had been listening
real quiet in the corner,
pipes up,

"you'll find the grub
is not as bad in the third line
on Fridays and Sundays.

Ask for Tony
at the commissary
and tell him Louie G. said
to take care of you."

"Communist Party,
huh?"
he says,
pausing thoughtfully.

You are the guys
J. Edgar Hoover
really hates.
I heard of you guys.

You are the ones who
organize the unorganized
and stick up
for the working people.

Man, I thought
we were bad.
We just rob
banks.

You guys
want it all."