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They Met in the Met

Michael Russo Red on the Run

By: - Dec 19, 2016

They Met in the Met

Cantankerous guy
Trouble maker
Famously cussed out
Carl Andre
Ersatz liberal
Gallery talk
Over the top
Passionate idealist
Boston artist
Michael Russo (1908-1990)
Fun and feisty
One of my guys
Loved him madly
Fellow paisan
Wrote his essay
Mass Art retrospective
Jeff Keough curated
March, 1981
Studied at Yale
Returned to art
Middle aged in 1960
Years on the lam
Union organizer
Card carrying member
Communist Party
Freedom fighter
Dreaded era of
McCarthyism
Lives lost and ruined
Then as now
When black lives matter
As Assad slaughters
His own people
Nothing changes
Undaunted
Mike recalled
Best and worst people
In the party
All over America
Small towns
Cheap hotels
Mills and factories
In NY sought refuge
Sanctuary in the Met
Quiet afternoons
Safe from FBI
Not art lovers
Roaming around
Ran into a dame
Didn't catch her name
Never asked
They would meet
Look at pictures
Go for coffee
Chat and hang out
Stunning blonde
They talked about art
Married to a playwright
She said discreetly
Ever so sweetly
Remained anonymous
Yes of course
It was Marilyn
He said with a glow
Speaking of long ago
To and fro
With Michelangelo
Rooms with a view