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Open Poetry #44
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To Vladimir Putin
| Open Poetry #44 |
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To Vladimir Putin |
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gilead Senior Member
since 2008-03-10
Posts 1067nevada, USA 
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O Russia why do you give birth to men who desire to suppress your aspirations for simple freedoms to break bread to drink wine to write poems to express ideas of state without fear of authority knocking on the door in the depth of night when the people should be sweetly dreaming You say nay nay that was yesterday but yesterday is today! |
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| © Copyright 2009 arthur chapman, jr - All Rights Reserved | |||
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gilead Senior Member
since 2008-03-10
Posts 1067nevada, USA |
I was born a descendant of slaves, less than a hundred years after the American Civil War. I can grant no quarter to men who use power to enslave the hearts, minds and souls of people who are born with the right to be free—to break bread, to drink wine, to make love and have children, without fear of authorities attempting to bend their minds to the will of the empowerment of the state, a “state” of which they so blatantly lie to be the power of the people. art |
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Robert E. Jordan Member Rara Avis
since 2008-01-25
Posts 8541Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
Art, Russia is, and most likely will always be, a lawless place. Russia never was part of the Roman Empire, so they never learned anything about democratic principles, or the rule of law. Our great common bond with the Russians is that we are both northern people, and that is inportant, and dangerous. Bobby |
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gilead Senior Member
since 2008-03-10
Posts 1067nevada, USA |
You have a keen view of history in this matter, Bobby. Thanks, art |
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Huan Yi Member Ascendant
since 2004-10-12
Posts 6688Waukegan |
. Recently, a Russian newspaper asked its readers to name their three most admired leaders in Russian history and were shocked to find them being, (at least before an editorial appeal to reverse the trend), Ivan the Terrible, Peter the Great, and Stalin. PS Your poem is very Russian in manner. . |
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turtle Senior Member
since 2009-01-23
Posts 548Harbor |
Bobby, I'm amazed! That is a very deep and valid opinion. Huan Yi, I had the exact reacthion. The trouble with denigrating a social philosophy for its opinion is that it requires an opinion to do it. turtle  |
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Robert E. Jordan Member Rara Avis
since 2008-01-25
Posts 8541Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
John, I can understand the choices. Ivan the Terrible established Russia as a true nation, Peter the Great brought Russia into contact with the rest of the world, and Stalin saved Russia from the Germans during the second world war. Turtle, Don't be amazed. Bones has been to school. Bobby |
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Huan Yi Member Ascendant
since 2004-10-12
Posts 6688Waukegan |
. All three killed their own people, (Ivan and Peter their own sons). Stalin in 1937-38 had one and a half million shot, ten million more died during his collectivization, there were many many others, (Russian soldiers who had survived being German prisoners of war were sent to the camps as criminals),until his own death; the country lived in a state of terror, as did the others behind the Iron Curtain. One could go on and on . . . . |
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gilead Senior Member
since 2008-03-10
Posts 1067nevada, USA |
Thanks everyone, for your thoughtful and perceptive comments. My Philosophy is simple---freedom from oppression by men who hold the triggers of guns. I remember the dictum---"Power flows from the barrel of a gun." ---Chairman Mao. I own a copy of the "Red Book" 1969 Edition. art |
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Robert E. Jordan Member Rara Avis
since 2008-01-25
Posts 8541Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
John, So hate my post. I stand by it. Americans, Russians, and all northern people are a strange lot. Do you work for the state department or what? BTW I've read all of Soltzenitzen's books a couple of times, and I agree with Soltzenitzen. Stalin was a jerk. Bobby |
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Huan Yi Member Ascendant
since 2004-10-12
Posts 6688Waukegan |
. “Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn a Russian novelist, dramatist and historian; Solzhenitsyn was responsible for raising awareness of the Soviet Union's labor camp system (Gulag); (born in Kislovodsk, Russia, December 11, 1918; died August 3, 2008). ------------- Soviet writer and political dissident whose novels exposed the brutality of Soviet labor camps . . . “ http://www.123exp-biographies.com/t/00034052873/ Solzhenitsyn was arrested as an artillery captain during WWII for questioning Stalin’s generalship in his personal letters and did eight years in the camps he wrote about. He was no fan. . |
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Robert E. Jordan Member Rara Avis
since 2008-01-25
Posts 8541Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
John, Yes, that's him. Have you ever read his books? If you haven't, you should. BTW, my spelling is also correct. Bobby |
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gilead Senior Member
since 2008-03-10
Posts 1067nevada, USA |
Thank you my friends for a lively exchange. My opinion of Putin is just that, my opinion, and I am not offended by anyone who may differ. I am a poet, sometimes right, sometimes wrong. I enjoy the art, and the privilege of being a man who's free to express himself. Best wishes, art |
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LindsayP Member Elite
since 2007-07-28
Posts 3410Australia, Victoria |
Art I would like to say that I'm right with Huan Yi with his ideas on this one. Stalin has more deaths to his name than anyone in history. well done. Lindsay |
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