Category: Poetry
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If I Was Not A Soldier
If I wasn’t a soldier, a soldier said, What would I be? – I wouldn’t be, It’s hardly likely it seems to me, A money lord or armament maker, Territorial magnate or business chief. I’d probably be just a working man, The slave of a licensed thief, – One of the criminals I’m shielding now!…
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If I ever had boys they’d be dangerous men.
If I ever had boys they’d be dangerous men They’ll smile at dogs and children and be a tonic to friendsThey’ll send flowers to their mother just because and they’ll be a shoulder for many when the world is too muchMy boys will know that vulnerability is strengthThey won’t bottle anger, they’ll learn how to…
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We were Infantry
By Nadezhda Gorskaya, May 9, 2019. We were infantry. Now we are walking along the treetops and old roofs.We left the battle along the edge of the swamp,We rested for a moment in a honeyed calm…We are the same soldiers, a posthumous company.We just don’t shoot anymore. And we simply became a little inaudible. With…
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To Those Born Later
Truly, I live in dark times!The guileless word is folly. A smooth foreheadSuggests insensitivity. The man who laughsHas simply not yet hadThe terrible news. What kind of times are they, whenA talk about trees is almost a crimeBecause it implies silence about so many horrors?That man there calmly crossing the streetIs already perhaps beyond the…
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Left March!
For the Red Marines: 1918 By Vladimir Mayakovsky Rally the ranks into a march!Now’s no time to quibble or browse there.Silence, you orators!Youhave the floor,Comrade Mauser.Enough of living by lawsthat Adam and Eve have left.Hustle old history’s horse.LEFT!LEFT!LEFT! Ahoy, blue jackets!Cross the sky-moats!Beyond the oceans!Unlessyour battleships on the roadsblunted their keels’ fighting keenness!Baring the teeth…
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The Dark Birds Flew
Otto Gelsted was a young Danish communist who described seeing the German planes flying over his home during WW2. He was a communist writer, and intellectual, who had to flee to Sweden after the Nazi’s marches on Denmark as he had spoken out against Hitler and the Nazi’s in local publications. The symbolism of the…
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The Wreckers
I watched them tearing a building down, A gang of men in a busy town.With a ho-heave-ho and lusty yell, They swung a beam and a sidewall fell. I asked the foreman, “Are these men skilled, As the men you’d hire if you had to build?”He gave me a laugh and said, “No indeed! Just common…
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Some Advice to Those Who Will Serve Time in Prison.
This poem is by Nazim Hikmet A renowned Turkish poet and lifelong communist, in which he is advocating for resilience and defiance in the face of oppression. His poetry, shaped by his own experiences of imprisonment for his political beliefs, reflects an unwavering commitment to the struggle of the working class. This poem embodies the…
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Stalin. A leader and a Poet
At the Project, we honour the great heroes of the working class, and Josef Stalin stands among them. He played a vital role in the Russian Revolution and was instrumental in establishing the dictatorship of the proletariat in the Soviet Union.In his youth, as his class consciousness developed, Stalin studied at the Gori Church School…
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A Man’s A Man For That
This beautiful poem by Robert Burns is a powerful critique of class distinctions, celebrating the dignity and worth of ordinary people. Written in 1795, the poet rejects the idea that wealth and titles define a person’s value, emphasising instead honesty, integrity, and hard work. Is there for honest PovertyThat hings his head, an’ a’ that;The…
Class Consciousness Project 