Trotsky knew: Face reality squarely; Do not seek The line of least resistence; Call things by their right names; Speak the truth No matter how bitter it may be; Do not fear obstacles Lenin knew: To say that socialists cannot Divert from its path The labour movement created By the material elements And material environment Whose interaction creates A certain type of labour movement And defines its path Is to ignore the truth That consciousness Participates In this interaction and creation: With Catholic labour movements The difference is It was the consciousness of priests And not the consciousness of Marxists That participated. Connolly knew: The only true prophets are those Who carve out the future they announce Trotsky knew: Be true in little things As in big ones; Steer by the logic of the class struggle Be bold When the hour for action arrives. Lenin knew: It is necessary to find The particular link in the chain Which must be grasped With all one's strength In order to keep the whole chain in place And prepare to move on Resolutely to the next link. Marx knew: For the producer, co-operation, And the posession in common Of the land And the means of production. Gramsci knew: The emancipation of the proletariat is not A labour of small account And of little men; only he Who can keep his heart strong And his will as sharp as a sword When the general disillusion is at its worst Can be regarded as a