"March, friends and neigbbours,
Without grub to our labours!
While the Party leads us,
With damn'all it feeds us!"
Author notes
I could not resist entering this fragment - though it IS only a fragment... I cannot remember the rest - and I cannot find the full text in my files (indeed, it may well have been among the papers confiscated when I was deported from Poland in 1985).
But it seems to fit so very much the theme of this competition.
It is a (slightly free) translation of the chorus of a parody of the Polish national anthem, which was sung by the strikers in the Gdansk shipyard in August 1980 - the strike which led to the founding of the Solidarity trade union... and so set off the domino effect that, in the end, toppled the whole Communist bloc.
I have not the least idea who composed the words...it was doubtless a joint effort...
But I used this fragment in an article about the strike (published in the UK at the time)... with the full approval of Lech Walesa, the leader of Solidarity!
And, for your information, I did check when I joined Allpoetry: as far as Allpoetry is concerned, a poem counts as "prewritten" ONLY if it has previously appeared on this site, NOT if it has been published elsewhere.
A contest entry
- Worker's Anthem by Poemdancer.
1100 points, ended December 3, 2007, 13 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please do not feel obliged to comment - and if you do, please understand that it may be some time before I can acknowledge it.
Comments
1 - 6 of 6
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Good write, as Hddninshws stated, thanks for the author's notes they helped! I found it a little short, but other than that very well written. And yes it was fine that it was written for something else, the only reason I said no pre writes was I was afraid someone would take a piece and try to squish it into the contest. Your's fit's so it works. Great job, thanks for entering!!
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I feel this is a little too short and it needs to be elaborated a little bit. I did read yur authors notes and it did help, haha, i have to say i was a little confused when i first read it until i read your notes. Thanks for entering, God bless!
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I loved this!
Did you know, Vera, that the Polish nation is much like the Afrikaner of South Africa? My son, Johann Lochner, befriended several Polish (girls LOL!) and two came to visit us earlier this year: Dominika Klosinska and Ana Buda.
http://allpoetry.com/poem/2551194
I simply LOVE them both! They are polital aware and mature in their outlook, after suffering hardship during childhood years. Johann is visiting Ana this Christmas for his first white Christmas in Poland.
Poets are prophets and also chamber singers. They can be such fun.
Love
Myra
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Thank you for preserving this interesting piece!
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Hi Vera
I remember when that was going on. Lech Walesa had become a household word.
Strange that you mentioned the fall of the communist bloc. And all this time I thought it was my Rosaries.LOL
Who knew? My Dad worked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in New York before and during the Second World War. It has since closed to any major overhauls due to the construction of the Verazano Narrows bridge at the entrance to the harbor. You can see the complications of any Navy ships trying to get out to sea if they ever bombed the bridge!
I amended my comments on White Birds if you care to see.
But anyway, I liked this. I'll be well versed in history if you have anything to do with it!
Regards,
John-you essay
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Who would dare quibble with a patriot, Vera? Thanks for sharing this humorous bit of history with your audience. :-)
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