Vox Populi
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Brenda Butka: Manifesto
Before the revolution, later today,
I must admire the chiffon sky,
Read a story and the weather report,
Feed the fish, find a card for a thank you note.
Before the revolution, later today,
DiAnne tends her tomatoes
And zinnias, announced by her little dog.
The cows slouch lazily
Towards the barn, hooves scuffling
Along the gravel.
Before the revolution, later today,
Chris straightens up, hitches his jersey shorts,
Wipes his hands on a rag,
The old volkswagen engine maybe
One step closer to kicking over.
Before the revolution, later today,
The clematis and the shrub rose need water,
My feet are muddy, and everything everywhere
Has weeds, which, before the revolution,
Must be scolded, pulled, thrown over the fence.
Before the revolution, later today,
Comrades, we fold the clothes,
Talk about dinner. Someone just happens
To be driving by, and stops for a drink, and our neighbor
Brings his grandbaby, her dark eyes watching.
Copyright 2018 Brenda Butka
Brenda Butka is a retired physician who lives on a farm on the edge of Nashville.
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Sheila Being by Brenda Butka
Vox Populi 
Sali Butka was an Albanian nationalist figure, kachak, poet, and one of the delegates of the city of Korçë to the Albanian National Congress of Lushnjë. Butka was born in village Butkë of Kolonjë District to one of branches of large Frashëri family and he was a Bektashi Muslim. He belonged to a generation of village men that became literate and joined guerilla bands through the literary efforts of the Albanian intelligentsia. Butka became the commander of various Albanian irregular bands and initiated armed guerrilla operations in 1906 in regions of modern southern Albania, which were under Ottoman control that time. Having learned to read Albanian on his own, Butka during his guerrilla campaigns composed revolutionary poems that combined naturalistic texts with nationalist themes in a form of folk poetry and viewed his contributions as feeding an Albanian national consciousness. His poems would be turned into songs which appealed to villagers that were illiterate.
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Reblogged this on NCBI and commented:
Brenda Butka is a retired physician who lives on a farm on the edge of Nashville.
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Love this
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You captured my sentiments…
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I love this — to borrow from Emma Goldman, if there’s no poetry, it’s not my revolution!
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