by Gerard Donnelly Smith

Poetry

(Swans - May 7, 2007)  

Into the 21st century The Socialist claims to be taking us,
A Trotskyist, quoting a little Lenin, a little Marx
Maybe he's read a little Mao Tse-tung, perhaps like Jefferson,
He also owns a copy of the Koran, perhaps he too
Like other founding fathers means to be the architect
of unity, in some pursuit of happiness, liberty and life.

Freely the peasants march down main streets,
No water-cannons hose down the union workers,
No leased dogs strain against the gloved hand,
Desperate to tear the flesh from any limb;
No barricades block the road to their voting booths,
Where black men and women are asked to show their papers.

Following radical reforms, he begins to redistribute the wealth,
Once taken from the indigenous peoples, made slaves by foreign interest
Whose bloody profits were made by millions of their deaths,
Whose social policies always ensured private gain,
Whose greater good, the greatest number disenfranchised,
Whose greed kept food from the mouths of babies.

I stand before you now,
All you who claim to be American Socialist,
To call you back, to remind you
That alone you are powerless,
Fragmented, following disparate egos
Into the same future.

See, the movement grows, and you have within your means
The way to tie lose ends together, and unless you do,
Your separate voices will be drowned out
By talking points and capitulations.

To Part II

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Internal Resources

Poetry

About the Author

Gerard Donnelly Smith on Swans (with bio).

Legalese

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