This may be the most contentious thing I've written and if you are a supporter of the Spanish government you should look away now. You may also tell me I should bugger off and mind my own business, which is fair enough. But if you're happy with masked thugs beating up elderly men and women for exercising what is, in effect, peaceful protest then good luck.
Catalonia Rising
(1)Franco's ghost laughs
as it observes
unfolding acts on bitter streets;
the pulsing heart of Catalonia,
under (2)Gaudi's coloured curves,
mourns in rhythmic beats
with the batons of the (3)Guardia.
Where once he cracked skulls
and shattered countless lives
the old track is stuck on repeat;
where democracy is culled
and jackboot fascism thrives
and freedom is in retreat.
The Catalan blood will surely rise
as it did in thirty six
push back the force of the elite
in the spirit of (4)Companys
resist the government's dirty tricks
win back their rights on (5)Barça's streets.
(c) Tim Fellows
Notes:
(1) Francisco Franco - Spanish general who ruled over Spain as a military dictator from 1939 until his death in 1975
(2) Antoni Gaudí i Cornet - Catalan architect whose works define the modern architecture of Catalonia
(3) Guardia Civil - the National Guard of Spain, who have a somewhat chequered history dating back beyond the Civil War in 1936-1939
(4) Lluís Companys i Jover - former president of Catalonia, executed by Franco in October 1940
(5) Barça is the shorthand for FC Barcelona who are the de facto national football team of Catalonia - they were forced to play a game despite the unrest in the streets and, unusually, took a political stance as a result
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