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Poetry - The Murder of Lidice
Patriotic Poetry
By Edna St. Vincent Millay
The quiet town of Lidice is built along the beautiful Danube river, by simple people who work as farmers, and at a nearby mill. Life is quaint and quiet, until the German's conquor their country. Heydrich, the Hangman rules their region, and he is despised and hated by all the village. One day, he is attacked, and dies from his wounds. No one will tell who did it. The village of Lidice is accused of hiding the killers, but the entire village refuses to reveal any information about it. As a consequence, all the men are marched out to the town square, and executed. "The women and children out to the Square, They marched, that there they might plainly see, How mighty a state is Germany! That can drag from his bed unawake, unaware, Unarmed, a man, to be murdered where, His wife and children must watch and see; Then carted them off in a truck and cart, Into Germany . . . The wives to be slaves of German men; The children to start life all over again, In German schools, to German rules, As butcher's apprentices, And hail and salute the master mind, Of the world's chief butcher of human-kind." A young wife has just given birth to her first born son, and quickly hides the newborn under the bed as the soldiers enter. But the baby cries, and the soldiers find it and kill it, as the mother screams in horror. Then she is killed. The poem's author then addresses America, "The whole world holds in its arms today, The murdered village of Lidice, . . . .Careless America, crooning a tune! Catch him! Catch him and stop him soon! Never let him come here! Think a moment; are we immune? Oh, my country, so foolish and dear, Scornful America, crooning a tune, Think! Think! -- are we immune?" Terrible, Tragic, and Moving! Contains description of violence, so should be used by upper high school or college age and done for older teen/adult audiences. This poem has been edited to match competitive time limit requirements for speech competitions, and still have the storyline in tact.
Approx. 8-9 min.
Price: $8.00 ID# # Poet015
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