by Samuel ibn Naghrillah 993-1056 I look up to the sky and the stars, And down to the earth and the things that creep there. And I consider in my heart how their creation Was planned with wisdom in every detail. See the heavens above like a tent, Constructed with loops and with hooks, AndContinue reading “I Look Up to the Sky”
Author Archives: Robin
How the Chiefs demanded from Shirwi the Death of Khusrau Parwiz
by Ferdowsi 935 to 1020 From the Shahnameh Shirwi, a timid, inexperienced youth, Found that the throne beneath him was a snare, While readers of mankind saw that ’twas time For men of might, those that had done the ill, And had produced that coil, went from the hall Of audience to the presence ofContinue reading “How the Chiefs demanded from Shirwi the Death of Khusrau Parwiz”
Back to business but missing the camaraderie of union action
As I mentioned recently it was good to get back to work but I still missed the buzz that goes with proper union activity. I don’t mean going on strike. That is the ultimate weapon the worker has and, like a nuclear bomb, you know that if you utilise it then the ultimate effect couldContinue reading “Back to business but missing the camaraderie of union action”
My Heart
by Abu Muhammad ibn Hazm I would split open my heart with a knife, place you within and seal my wound, that you might dwell there and never inhabit another until the resurrection and judgment day — thus you would stay in my heart while I lived, and at my death you too would dieContinue reading “My Heart”
Subtraction Flower
by Lisa Zaran You could die for it- love, Or refuse it altogether and know nothing except the urgency of youth. Men have been solitary for ages carrying the stoniest of hearts in their broad chests while we women begin too early brush the brown leaves from our shoulders, go from bloom to fade asContinue reading “Subtraction Flower”
Babi Yar
by Yevgeny Yevtushenko No monument lies over Babi Yar. A drop sheer as a crude gravestone. I am afraid. Today I am as old in years as all the Jewish people. Now I seem to be a Jew. Here I plod through ancient Egypt. Here I perish crucified, on the cross, and to this dayContinue reading “Babi Yar”
Wars and Rumors of Wars
by Emanuel Xavier “Ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that ye not be troubles; all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet ” -Matthew 24:6 1. I escape the horrors of war with a towel and a room Offering myself to Palestinian and Jewish boys asContinue reading “Wars and Rumors of Wars”
Union bonds do not last forever, but I still had all the world as my stage
I must admit, the end of the Basildon lockout was a bit of an anti-climax. I had discovered more about the camaraderie of socialism and the true meaning of the brotherhood of the union (be fair, there were not many women in the trade union at that time) in those couple of weeks with theContinue reading “Union bonds do not last forever, but I still had all the world as my stage”
The Old Prison
by Judith Wright Australian poet The rows of cells are unroofed, a flute for the wind’s mouth, who comes with a breath of ice from the blue caves of the south. O dark and fierce day: the wind like an angry bee hunts for the black honey in the pits of the hollow sea. WavesContinue reading “The Old Prison”
Friends Departed
by Henry Vaughan They are all gone into the world of light! And I alone sit ling’ring here; Their very memory is fair and bright, And my sad thoughts doth clear. It glows and glitters in my cloudy breast, Or those faint beams in which this hill is drest After the sun’s remove. I seeContinue reading “Friends Departed”
Robin's Nest 