If you think you missed out on the chance think again
For the courage to confront the white supremacists
Or to put your body in defense of a woman’s right to choose
Or to mobilize to face down the flag wavers supporting the
wars.
As for the rainbow of sexual orientation coming out proud
And the freedom to express gender identity openly
These rights and respect won only through long hard struggle
Threatened with new repressive laws and hateful
acts.
As the old order attempts to tighten its grip
As if the clock could be turned back fifty years
The struggle against white male privilege continues
Against a backdrop of imperialist aggression.
Back then the grandiose triumphalism celebrated
America the great victor of the Second World War
Flouting dominant military industrial production
That precipitated the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The rulers exulting not so much now that China is ascendant
When every military adventure is a lingering disaster
When denial and backwards reaction represent policy
When gilded age decadence bankrupts everything good.
Knowing that the youth will make the revolution
The keepers of the flame are eager to pass the torch
To the next generation of activists seeking guidance
On how to negate the repression and seize the day.
