{"id":141,"date":"2013-06-26T16:12:27","date_gmt":"2013-06-26T15:12:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/radicalglasgow.me.uk\/wp\/?page_id=141"},"modified":"2013-06-26T16:32:11","modified_gmt":"2013-06-26T15:32:11","slug":"poetry-6","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/radicalglasgow.me.uk\/?page_id=141","title":{"rendered":"Poetry 6"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Death of the Red Guardist<\/h2>\n

It was in Munich on the first of May,<\/p>\n

a matter of life and death.<\/p>\n

The whites were raging, the lead was flying,<\/p>\n

grenades spat death and ruin.<\/p>\n

Manning the machine gun at the Stachusskiosk,<\/p>\n

a red guardist shot in all directions.<\/p>\n

The bullets rang all around him.<\/p>\n

He was bleeding from many a wound:<\/p>\n

Just shoot! I’ll serve until my death<\/p>\n

— the revolution!<\/p>\n

What does the bought soldier know<\/p>\n

of the struggle of the oppressed masses?<\/p>\n

Our blood is spilt for our freedom and future,<\/p>\n

those who fall die for their class.<\/p>\n

And nearer, ever nearer comes the white mob.<\/p>\n

Already the bullets are running out.<\/p>\n

Take up the Browning! What’s death and danger!<\/p>\n

Just shoot! You won’t see me be a coward!<\/p>\n

Here stands and falls a red guardist of<\/p>\n

&mdash the revolution!<\/p>\n

Grenades hit the Charles Square.<\/p>\n

The church windows shatter.<\/p>\n

The red soldier stands there alone, bleeding.<\/p>\n

He greets the enemy without trembling.<\/p>\n

Then a blow from a rifle butt makes him keel over,<\/p>\n

and in dying he threatens the whites:<\/p>\n

You cannot take my beliefs from me,<\/p>\n

even though I myself am lost:<\/p>\n

I die but it lives on<\/p>\n

&mdash the revolution!<\/p>\n

Erich Mühsam<\/p>\n

who fought in the 1919 Munich soviet – was murdered by the Nazis on 10th July 1934.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

I Want to Believe!<\/h2>\n

I want to believe<\/p>\n

All that is good is out there<\/p>\n

Sleeping in hearts that live in dark valleys,<\/p>\n

About to blossom like some magic woodland,<\/p>\n

In spite of war, in spite of greed<\/p>\n

The essence that is humanity struggling to be free.<\/p>\n

All around death arrives in many guises,<\/p>\n

Silent as the frost poverty kills,<\/p>\n

The ruthless march of war<\/p>\n

With every drum beat seeks God\u2019s blessing,<\/p>\n

While the God fearing kill the God fearing,<\/p>\n

Slaughter in the name of the greater good.<\/p>\n

I want to believe<\/p>\n

All that is good is out there<\/p>\n

Sleeping in the hearts that live in dark valleys<\/p>\n

About to blossom like some magic woodland,<\/p>\n

Not just as the dream of poets.<\/p>\n

There Will Come a Time<\/h2>\n

There will come a time when the hordes remember,<\/p>\n

who bound our grand-parents to the yoke of oppression,<\/p>\n

who sentenced our parents to deprivation,<\/p>\n

who bid poverty sink its teeth into our heart,<\/p>\n

who teach our children, greed is a noble art.<\/p>\n

Who sent our sons through the gates of hell<\/p>\n

to a litany of cambist brawls,<\/p>\n

crammed coffers with blood-stained gold<\/p>\n

while laughing in Ares’ halls.<\/p>\n

“Who does these terrible things to us?” they will ask,<\/p>\n

and when they remember,<\/p>\n

they’ll bring an energy that is endless<\/p>\n

to drive a fist that is fearless.<\/p>\n

Then this merciless market-driven world will crumble<\/p>\n

under an insurrection of integrity,<\/p>\n

the poor will emerge from the dark husk of capitalism<\/p>\n

to live in the light of social justice.<\/p>\n

There will come a time when the hordes remember.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Death of the Red Guardist It was in Munich on the first of May, a matter of life and death. The whites were raging, the lead was flying, grenades spat death and ruin. Manning the machine gun at the … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":1600,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"showcase.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/radicalglasgow.me.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/141"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/radicalglasgow.me.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/radicalglasgow.me.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/radicalglasgow.me.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/radicalglasgow.me.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=141"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/radicalglasgow.me.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/141\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":147,"href":"http:\/\/radicalglasgow.me.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/141\/revisions\/147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/radicalglasgow.me.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}