The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-12-20

ing TODeo dDDub tilElil 10 DAIll bIleli
securely TO the stakes behind them.
Boots and shoes dumped in the snow.
There was silence. An ugly silence,
The prisoners looked at each other,
unable TO find any word to express
the hatred they felt for their enemies.
Shackled by hands, and by feet, and
now to be bound TO these stakes that
had been driven into the earth in
advance for their killing. Now they
stood on the border of death. Dark
ness stretched before their eyes, The
wind and the snow beat upon them.
Stripped OF their coats and gowns
before this their lasS 0eath-mareh.
the cold penetrated their bones to the
marrow. They stood closely together
in a row.
Gloom of the Night
over here Get over Bit Dress
up that linel"
of human forms could be dimly made
out, Juggling and pushing at some
heavy instrument.
AN right-7pu it herel Count the
criminals!"
"One two three" A SOL
der walked over and counted.
The execution officer, coarse OF
face, passed in front Of the line, fol-
lowing the soldier, pointing at each
one. In that brutal face seemed to
be concentrated all the ferocity OF the
rulers towards the oppressed. Angry
passions famed from the eyes of the
prisoners as he passed; 1t famed up
once more in their breasts, burning
their eyes and bodies with a fever of
pain. They would have lunged out
and beat this devil TO death, but their
hands were shackled and now bound
behind them. They set their teeth
and shiyered in the icy wind from
cold and from rage.
"Comrade, be Drawer" said someone
on the right Of the youth.
The young poet turned his head to
look. 1t was the dear friend with
whom he had talked so much at sup
per time
Don't worryl I'm all right"
"Twenty-three, twenty-four, TWEEN
ty-fivel Correct! Goodp
The officer who had been counting
beloved as he stalked heavily across
the snow to the instrument,
Illimitable emptiness! Incessant
wind and snow! GrayneSs without
end, darkness without end Gro
tesque shadows were reflected in the
death-Ike grayness,
Good Ready Wait for the
whistle!" beloved the officer again.
Whistle Blows
All hearts grew tenser, like drawn
bowstrings The heavy object before
their eyes was death. Several SOL
diers were working over 1t busily.
The sky was crushing down on them
on the bodies of the 25.
"ConradesI We are to die. But
somewhere else today there is a great
convention of our representatives.
Our government takes form today.
Let It's wish our government well.
Long live our Soviet Government"
All the prisoners shouted wildly.
All the things that had been stored
Up in their hearts, and that they
could not express came back with
sudden clarity. The night sounded
with their shouts.
Darkness disappeared, and light
gloYed before their eyes-the birth
of new world.
The Shrill whistle blew. Twenty
five strong. heroic voices took up the
strain:
Arise We prisoners Of starvation,
Arise We wretched of the earth..."
Pit, pat, pit pat, pit pat
The heavy object swept the line
horizontally, splitting out its bullets.
The singing grew a little weaker,
but the few voices left increased in
volume:
"'ris the last fight We face
The furious shrek of the whistle.
Pit, pat, pit, pat, pat!
The instrument swept the line
again. The singing again weakened
and only few voices remained, low
and weak.
The Interna--'
Steely Rain
A third whistle. In the rain Of
bullets that followed, the song found
its end.
Rape your mothersl You bas-
tardsl Now go ahead and singl"
The officer swore contentedly and
turned back in the direction from
which he had come.
Pick up the gum" he ordered
Return to your posts atsef1ce Wen
bury the bodies tomorrow. You
don't suppose the corpses will walk
OFF,
He went back to the hall, and the |
soldiers tramped again over the |
snow. Slish, slosh
The night was ugly and forbidding.
The wet snow fell heavily and the |
winter wind roared by only to come |
back again. The snow piled UP
on the hanging heads, only to be
blown off again bv the gale They |
were all dumb and motionless, fas-
tened there. In some spots-in one,
in two, in three-the blood trickled |
down slowly and notified the snow
in the darkness.
VIII the sky ever grow light
TIL