Wake up the White Rose

By Michael Hall

This book is in honor of a group of university students who lived in Munich during WWII. They wrote pamphlets and papers denouncing Nazism and the continuation of the war and the premise that all citizens should rise up for their rights and freedoms against this nightmare. They were caught,tried, and then hung for their beliefs but their courage, fortitude,and dedication lives on in all those who struggle against tyranny,despotism and militaristic violence. This book consists of poetry that tries to wake up that passion and courage here in America where we now find ourselves on the brink of watching a democracy turn into a fascist police state. Our founding Fathers were rebels,radicals and dissenters who knew that to change wrong you must wake up, rise up, and fight to instill change. Let us honor those who rose up before us and fight for what we know is right.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jul 5, 2007
• ISBN: 9781465317650

Michael Hall

Michael Hall grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and lives with his family in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is the creator of numerous acclaimed picture books for children, including Frankencrayon, Red: A Crayon’s Story, My Heart Is Like a Zoo, Perfect Square, and It’s an Orange Aardvark! 

Book preview

Copyright © 2007 by Michael Hall.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in

any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,

recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission

in writing from the copyright owner.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

[e-mail]

40296

Contents

Poems

Axioms

PROLOGUE

It is for

We must

Christmas Fever

home

Wave that flag or get arrested

The worth of struggle

mercury

One against the other

Arrogant incompetent humble geniuses

The church go’er

Save the world

When sneaky snitches rule by shadow and deceit

Whistle while you work

This is not mine to plant a flag on

Starfish

Mercy ships

A not so sacred cow

Tomorrow is today

Go out

War ho’s

33 million pieces of silver

Yankee Hubris

What do you support

Put me in God

79 years

Another day in the box

When its your time

4.6 billion years

Land of the free, inside a cage

What of raison d’être

Freedom from fear

Which america

Above the law

What of purpose?

What is man?

Universal utopianism

The ol’ soft shoe double standard

Light vs. dark

Cotton in Paris

The courage to refuse

You have it all

We do have giants among us

The touch of God

Children and fire

Etched forever in my mind

We’re at war, against whom?

Rise Michael rise

Wake up call

Walls of fear

Break the silence

Red dawn

The end

Broken promises

Mountains to climb

The ancient crime

End game

The Hebrew squeeze

100 year’s

Black water rising

We are all

I serve

Connections

White rose

A just war

Fan the fire of violence

Sign of the times

What worth a life

Trolls go a’ trollin’

fortitude

Dues are due

The kosher golden rule

Ann Frank is alive and well

pilgrim

if

My home

The enemy within

Sweep it under the rug, smile, hoist the flag

The right to return

The bel’in wall

The roadmap to a dead end

Sheeple and Gyiom

Candles in a pepsi cup

I threw away the flag

Rock, paper, scissors

The golden rule

Flag waving high and proud

G_D

40 years

This is war?

The minister of forgiveness

Doesn’t matter

FINALE

This book is respectfully dedicated to all those folks who struggle for justice against injustice, who impart mercy on those who have none and who strive for morality against immorality. This composition is for those who’s love and philanthropic compassion rises above the iniquities, hate, hedonism, and violence of these days and who endeavor instead, to heal these flaws with reason, kindness, altruism, nonviolence, mercy, and with forgiveness.

This is for those pals who suffer under occupation and repression and who have the right to the non-negotiable return of their homeland, who have the inalienable entitlement to the basic human rights to live in peace not under the yolk of a foreign occupation by blatant militarism and land stealing by a delusional few who claim all for themselves in an insane and elitist Hebrew: ‘Manifest Destiny’.

This book is dedicated to those who aid not themselves but give out of a desire for servitude and generosity for the wellbeing of others with no thought of compensation or reimbursement who have the courage to stand between the violated and the violators as they try to shield those who would be stoned, beaten or shot as they get abused and struck upon simply for living in their own land and refusing to give in to armed squatters. And to those who I admire most deeply, the Refusniks. What wondrous giants are they for being men and women of the highest integrity and morality.

This book is devoted to those who vie for true equality against inequality, who struggle against the despotic yolk of governmental, corporate, or religious powers who lord it over those whom they mistakenly perceive as less than they. This is for those who stand against and disobey draconian and tyrannical laws, who understand and aspire to implement the premise that: Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, nonviolently, within the law. It is our right, it is our duty, to throw off such government, and that time is here, now before its too late. The question is, do we have the chutzpah anymore to exercise it, or are we too fat and contented to care?

People of this day like Dave Zonshien, Yaniv Itzkovitz, Ehren Watada, Cindy Shenagin and Don Stephens who rise like the David’s, Sophie’s, Spartacus’s and Joan of Arc’s of yesteryear and vie against the systematic goliaths of the day without thought of the self or reward but simply do because of their convictions, they are heroes in every sense of the word and to them especially is this book in humble gratitude committed.

To those who are impassioned stewards of this world, who truly strive for a unselfish approach to this planet that is not ours to own or abuse but merely to tend and pass on to the next generation with tenderness and not bled and abused for every drop of self indulgent, egocentricity, temporal pleasure that can be milked from it as it is defiled and laid waste by human locusts.

And of course, last but not least, to my sister’s daughters: Kristin, Nicole, Shannon and Dana, to my brother’s sons: Eric and Kyle, for whom I have never done as much as I should, I apologize in ignominy and humility, eternally with love to whom I also dedicate this book.

Poems

1)   It is for

2)   We must

3)   Christmas Fever

4)   home

5)   Wave that flag or get arrested

6)   The worth of struggle

7)   mercury

8)   One against the other

9)   Arrogant incompetent humble geniuses

10)   The church go’er

11)   Save the world

12)   When sneaky snitches rule by shadow and deceit

13)   Whistle while you work

14)   This is not mine to plant a flag on

15)   Starfish

16)   Mercy ships

17)   A not so sacred cow

18)   Tomorrow is today

19)   Go out

20)   War ho’s

21)   33 million pieces of silver

22)   Yankee Hubris

23)   What do you support

24)   Put me in God

25)   79 years

26)   Another day in the box

27)   When its your time

28)   4.6 billion years

29)   Land of the free, inside a cage

30)   What of raison d’être

31)   Freedom from fear

32)   Which america

33)   Above the law

34)   What of purpose?

35)   What is man?

36)   Universal utopianism

37)   The ol’ soft shoe double standard

38)   Light vs. dark

39)   Cotton in Paris

40)   The courage to refuse

41)   You have it all

42)   We do have giants among us

43)   The touch of God

44)   Children and fire

45)   Etched forever in my mind

46)   We’re at war, against whom?

47)   Rise Michael rise

48)   Wake up call

49)   Walls of fear

50)   Break the silence

51)   Red dawn

52)   The end

53)   Broken promises

54)   Mountains to climb

55)   The ancient crime

56)   End game

57)   The Hebrew squeeze

58)   100 year’s

59)   Black water rising

60)   We are all

61)   I serve

62)   Connections

63)   White rose

64)   A just war

65)   Fan the fire of violence

66)   Sign of the times

67)   What worth a life

68)   Trolls go a’ trollin’

69)   fortitude

70)   Dues are due

71)   The kosher golden rule

72)   Ann Frank is alive and well

73)   pilgrim

74)   if

75)   My home

76)   The enemy within

77)   Sweep it under the rug, smile, hoist the flag

78)   The right to return

79)   The bel’in wall

80)   The roadmap to a dead end

81)   Sheeple and Gyiom

82)   Candles in a pepsi cup

83)   I threw away the flag

84)   Rock, paper, scissors

85)   The golden rule

86)   Flag waving high and proud

87)   G_D

88)   40 years

89)   This is war?

90)   The minister of forgiveness

91)   Doesn’t matter

Axioms

1)   you can’t pray for peace at public schools but you can pledge for war and that is a fool’s lesson

2)   peace is always the only answer to war

3)   within you the seed