As remembered by Stephen Babb
October 29, 2021
Relentless
For Leverett Millen
In memoriam
October 2021
"There are those who struggle for a day, and they are good. There are those who struggle for a year, and they are better. There are those who struggle many years, and they are better still. But those who struggle all their lives — they are the indispensable ones."
Bertolt Brecht"The most revolutionary thing one can do is always to proclaim loudly what is happening."
Rosa LuxemburgHere's how I will remember you:
An old-school, unapologetic radical,
A lifelong warrior for change,
Undeviating in your struggle to
Help bend the long arc closer to our goal
And leave behind a juster world
An advocate for children in harm's way
And peerless champion of all underdogs,
A mensch, a raconteur, a family man
Who was devoted to his wife and son,
My hero and my exemplar,
My companero, brother, and dear friend.You were as constant as you were
Conspicuous: your formidable frame
Stood out among the crowd
Each time the barricades went up;
Your baritone boomed forth
Each time a fearless voice was needed to
Impart unwelcome truths to potentates.A devotee of Rosa Luxemburg
You preached the gospel of Alinksy's rules;
Undaunted by defeat, you were the patron saint
Of the lost cause.I won't forget your caustic wit
Delivered in a voice which echoed that
Of Bernie Sanders; I'd love to have a president
Whose speeches made me think of you.Relentless to the end, you never lost
Your outrage, or your will to strike back at
The forces that oppress us, should they lie
Outside us or within.Your long and valiant battle's over now.
You will be sorely missed. But rest assured
That we'll fight on, and that we'll strive
To wage that fight, and to love life,
As fiercely as you did.
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