Running Bumblebees

Trotsky and Lenin taught
The Russian bumblebee to walk
From flower to flower
For seventy years -
A starvation diet of honey.

Gorbachev's perestroika taught
The Russian bumblebee to run,
To let its feet coordinate themselves
In hope that a running start
Will lift their country into flight.

The bumblebee cannot fly, unfortunately,
Unless the wings have autonomy.
No central nervous system
Can control the wing flap speed
Required for flight.

The wings must coordinate themselves
Free from central domination,
Or else - the Russians can cuss and cuss -
They'll become a fast-running
Bumblebee like US.