Little Red Book on My Bookshelf
By: Rohan Buettel
This book is small, small enough to hide in my pocket. Thin leaves dense with print. Bright, bright
as a red rocket when waved in the air, waved with one hundred thousand others. The title and a five-
pointed star impressed in gold into a plastic cover. Gold to make the title stand out bold. In the front a
picture of the great man, protected by a rice-paper leaf, mole prominent on his chin. Almost smiling,
but then the hard, coal black eyes. I remember a fifth form friend at school. A school for success and
rugby in a state of emergencies. Communist, gay, an outsider in every way, offering to buy an illegal
copy for me after class. In hand again, a thin red ribbon opens the pages to The Mass Line. “The
people, and the people alone, are the motive force in the making of world history.” No room for you
then. No role for charismatic leaders and a cult of personality. I take you at your word and place you
back on my bookshelf.
Rohan Buettel lives in Canberra, Australia. His haiku have appeared in various Australian and international journals (including Frogpond, Cattails and The Heron’s Nest). His longer poetry most recently appears in The Elevation Review, Rappahannock Review, Penumbra Literary and Art Journal, Mortal Magazine, Passengers Journal, Reed Magazine, Meniscus and Quadrant.