Continuation of Brodskys History of the Twentieth Century

Continuation of Brodsky’s History of the Twentieth Century 

1918.  A flu pandemic in Spain takes hold, 
From Kansas over the seas in America bold, 
Women’s suffrage win the vote, 
Their opinion is not remote, 
Russia switches from the Julian calendar, 
To the Gregorian, the west’s larder, 
Russia agrees the world war to leave,
To forsake the German swastika sleeve,  
UK navy air flying squad merges with RAF, 
To make one dynamic force, to the Nazi’s deaf, 
The Finnish civil war ends which did distract, 
Germany away from their vile, aggressive act, 
Nazareth and Forest of Argonne battles won, 
Allied forces break the Hindenburg line rung,  
The First World War ends with freedom standing, 
Democracies will liberate and love undemanding,
Austria, Czech, Hungary become Republics grand,
A peace conference is held in Paris’s free land. 

The man of the year is William C “Billy” Durant, 
The founding owner and President of General Motors, 
He engineers automobiles with speed, at some current, 
Like sliced bread off a line to be given coasters. 

(Billy Durant) 

After Billy bought Chevrolet motors,
Of Delaware, to take the market’s rotors, 
He made its head into a new entity, 
In General Motors company identity,
But this man, called Pierre S DuPont, 
Stole his presidency with great foe,
So this chief man Billy bought bowling alleys, 
But died unknown to his lucrative days:
But Durant asserted in money terms our friend,
Technology, after which the war did quickly end.


Reference: History of the Twentieth Century by Joseph Brodsky
Copyright © | Year Posted 2016

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Marcum Wong Avatar
October 2, 2016 at 11:31 AM
I enjoyed having my old memory jogged in this scholarly well written poem Rhoda. Thank you.7 ; )
Webb Avatar
October 2, 2016 at 11:36 AM
ok, thanks Connie.
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