MARTYR FOR THE PEOPLE
By Natasha Hull-Richter (age 11),
When
leaders wouldn't lead
And the country was in need,
Wellstone chose to take a stand
Reaching out a helping hand.
With
the wisdom of a Franklin,
The eloquence of Jefferson,
The Courage of a Kennedy,
He fought for peace for you and me.
As
heroic as Washington,
As honorable as Lincoln,
As inspiring as Patrick Henry,
He tried to keep us free.
And
like our greatest heroes,
He stood strong against our foes;
With danger drawing near,
He refused to stop and fear.
Always
putting his future last
In the votes he chose to cast,
The common people he did love
Like an angel from above
He
put right high above might
And was martyred in his fight;
But for all he made us face,
The whole world's a better place.
Copyright -2002 by Natasha Hull-Richter
Reprinted from Paul Wellstone's Memorial Website, Buzzflash, assorted other websites and poetry books with the permission of the author. (Originally published in 2002)
Note from Ruth Hull
On October 11, 2002, Paul Wellstone stood up to George W. Bush and the Military Industrial Complex by voting against the Iraqi War Power Resolution. On October 25, 2002 his plane crashed and exploded under circumstances indicative of murder and sabotage. It wasn't just Paul that died. They got his wife Sheila, his daughter Marcia, campaign workers and the flight crew. What a lesson for any leader daring to stand up to the defense corruption industry.
To peace-lovers and idealists who had hoped that true leadership would emerge our of D.C., Paul represented hope and a belief that anyone could succeed. Paul Wellstone is an example of what we can do when we really work to change the world. Without corporate contributions or political backing, this college professor rode around Minnesota in a green bus, meeting people and letting them know his dream for our country. Minnesotans stood up to corporations and political pressures and elected Wellstone to the U.S. Senate in a race that will always go down in history as a great people's revolution.
Paul was loved from coast to coast. Millions of Americans expected to see Paul elected President in 2004 as proof that a common but great man could remain true to the people and be elected to the top job. People went into shock as these dreams went up in smoke on October 25, 2002.
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