[Debate] Brutus poem, 'Christopher Gell' (new), 26/5/09

[Patrick Bond]

Dennis: "Answering a question about influences."
 
Christopher (CWM) Gell*
 
He was, believe me,the one
who most influenced me:
in his metal coffin-box -
some sombre sarcophagus -
the whispered barely-above-breath breath
that clangoured defiance:
yes, he was a man to ignite
the inagination, spark fresh courage:
a sick man struggling to stay alive
- tinder to strike sparks from ash,
hoarsely he spoke his watchword
mag-nan-ni-mous - Great Soul
offering, in turn, his homage
to Gandhi, who still inspired him.
25/5/09
 
* CWM Gell, Great campaigner striken with polio, spending his days in an 
early iron lung. Died Port Elizabeth, May 1960.