The Last Freedom Fighter
- Written by: Caren Gilbert — The Secret Lighthouse — Poet
- Published: 4th May 2018
Caren Gilbert shares her powerful poem which was used to introduce our latest event in the Courageous Leadership series.
Gather close, and listen close,
as I tell you that this poet will no longer fight in the wars of this world.
Watch as I lay down my armour, my sword, my shield, my pen, my voice and my coins,
and reflect in the currents of a hundred years past.
This poet will not occupy the sidelines, will not be entrenched
and will not be the muffled sound of endless winters descending upon endless souls.
Keep dropping the bombs, the buildings and the bodies;
I will not shift nor savour.
Nor will I fall silent,
under the crushing control of the legions set loose upon my liberties.
Let everything fly, I will take to the skies also,
to be amongst the wisps, the whimsies and the stars.
Let us sit for a millennia, and see which power shines most brightly.
My half-life is as yet undetermined,
my determination untested, and undefined.
This poet comes with neither manual, nor manifesto;
no policy document to betray the true intent
of the words whispered into the wind, beneath towering trees…
Words carried out on the neverending breeze, free as the day they were borne.
This poet will be the last freedom fighter;
always resisting the onslaught, always bearing the call to arms.
The ones who came before,
and the ones who think to follow the ghosts to their graves,
are lies,
buried where we fall.
Captured by Caren Gilbert at 3am, 5th January 2018.
This poem introduced the Courageous Leadership: Women in Leadership event which was delivered by the Health and Social Care Academy, the Coalition of Care and support Providers in Scotland (CCPS) (this link will take you away from our website) and Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) (this link will take you away from our website).
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