Sam Friedman

August 13, 2024 Length:132 words

Summary: A short poem that reflects on the deep frustration, disillusionment, and a sense of urgency in the face of ongoing violence and oppression in Gaza — Editors

After the weeks of tense encampments,

some now disbanded,

some now destroyed,

as the sweat of our ever-warming summers

leaches our resolve,

as students fret dispersed and alone about lost careers

and perhaps endure the “We stand with Israel” of an angry family,

while their Chosen-by-God Israelis keep on killing,

and Gazans keep dying, defiant though starved,

and pundits and politicians spew half-truths and

lies…

What the hell do we do next?

How do we organize yet another uprising,

how soar anew after long weeks of let-down,

how rise in revolt like the milkmaids of Paris,

or the women insurgents who uprooted the Tsars?

How can we rout the blasphemers and liars

who claim to obey their Ten Holy Commandments

as they kill and they covet

in the name of their God?

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sam Friedman
Sam Friedman is longtime anti-Stalinist socialist and the author of Teamster Rank and File and A Precious Residue. He has written widely on the AIDS crisis and on Russia and Ukraine.