"The Blood Vote" Why is your face so white, Mother? Why do you choke for breath? O, I have dreamt in the night, my son That I have doomed a man to death Why do you hide your hand, Mother? And crouch above in dread? It beareth a dreadful brand, my son With the dead man's blood 'tis red I hear his widow cry in the night, I hear his children weep, And always within my sight; O God! The dead man's blood doth weep. They put the dagger into my grasp, It seemed but a pencil then, I did not know it was a fiend a-gasp, For the priceless blood of men. They gave me the ballot paper, The grim death warrant of doom, And I smugly sentenced the man to death In that dreadful little room. I put it inside the Box of Blood, Nor thought of the man I'd slain, Till at midnight came like a 'whelming flood God's word - and the Brand of Cain O little son! O my little son! Pray God for your Mother's soul That the scarlet stain may be white again In God's great judgement roll." W.R. Winspear, Australian Worker, 12 October 1916. Twice during the "Great" War the Prime Minister held conscription referendums to make Australians die for imperialist powers on shores far from here. Twice Australians rejected his proposal. Let this be our claim to ANZAC day: We shall always vote NO. Lev Lafayette. [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.student.unimelb.edu.au/~lev -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
