{"id":3285,"date":"2016-11-28T02:22:11","date_gmt":"2016-11-28T02:22:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/?p=3285"},"modified":"2016-11-28T02:30:10","modified_gmt":"2016-11-28T02:30:10","slug":"elegy-for-fidel-castro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/elegy-for-fidel-castro\/","title":{"rendered":"Elegy for Fidel Castro"},"content":{"rendered":"

Condemn me. It does not matter. History will absolve me.
\n~ Fidel Castro Source M.I.A.<\/a><\/u><\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Fidel<\/a>
Fidel Castro was a champion of the poor, and a charmer of the ladies (such as Gladys Feijoo in the picture… however his lack of basic manners left my mother cold when she met him in Washington<\/a><\/u><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If not by man, who so often condemned:
\nFor all his flaws: l<\/span>et he by God absolved be –
\nFor sins committed in life and rule –
\nAs you for yours, and for mine, me.<\/p>\n

Hero of the fight from dictators rule
\nCircumstances made him the same
\nSometimes as brutal, more times more or less so:
\nThose who made it so share the shame.<\/p>\n

If we do wrong to do right
\nAre we right or are we wrong?
\nShould we leave the wrong well enough be
\nIn doing nothing are we not strong?<\/p>\n

Each man makes up his mind and takes arms
\nOr offered stretched arm in handshake
\nGod absolve him of his sins, history of his wrongs
\nAs he his place in historys pantheon does take.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Condemn me. It does not matter. History will absolve me. ~ Fidel Castro Source M.I.A. If not by man, who so often condemned: For all his flaws: let he by God absolved be – For sins committed in life and rule – As you for yours, and for mine, me. …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[308,130],"tags":[3309,3307,2591,2354,2780,2768,3306,3308],"class_list":["post-3285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-obituaries","category-politics","tag-forallhisflaws","tag-castro-in-america","tag-cuba","tag-death","tag-elegy","tag-fidel-castro","tag-fidel-castro-death","tag-memories-of-fidel-castro","column","twocol"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7EI4f-QZ","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2683,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/fidel-castro-meets-a-country-girl\/","url_meta":{"origin":3285,"position":0},"title":"Fidel Castro Meets a Country Girl","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"18th April 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The dust was only settling The blood bare dry on the Cuban streets America gauging the new regime Brought him over their folk to meet. As they came into the building They were greeted at the door The butler answered, a girl took their coats Who brought them away to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Family Stories"","block_context":{"text":"Family Stories","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/family-stories\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Fidel Castro after the Cuban Revolution and before he crossed my mother","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Fidel-Castro-after-the-Cuban-Revolution-and-before-he-crossed-my-mother.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Fidel-Castro-after-the-Cuban-Revolution-and-before-he-crossed-my-mother.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Fidel-Castro-after-the-Cuban-Revolution-and-before-he-crossed-my-mother.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Fidel-Castro-after-the-Cuban-Revolution-and-before-he-crossed-my-mother.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Fidel-Castro-after-the-Cuban-Revolution-and-before-he-crossed-my-mother.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4067,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/good-food-good-meat\/","url_meta":{"origin":3285,"position":1},"title":"Good Food, Good Meat","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"16th October 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"My mother worked in the 1925 F Street Club in Washington, where she met Fidel Castro who left little positive impression on her. At a meal among the Irish community, with Catholics and Protestants present, she told how one friend thwarted a potential row with some excellent diplomacy! An old\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Family Stories"","block_context":{"text":"Family Stories","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/family-stories\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Mother in her workplace with her colleagues at the 1925 F Street Club, on 1925 F Street, Washington, USA.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Ma-in-America.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Ma-in-America.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Ma-in-America.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Ma-in-America.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":907,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/elegy-for-neda-soltani\/","url_meta":{"origin":3285,"position":2},"title":"Elegy for Neda Soltani","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"22nd October 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"She died on video before my eyes... She just lay there dying She uttered not a cry It was all others around her crying It is but a day shes dead But now its not the same Yesterday she was an unknown girl Today she has a name Neda Soltani\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Iran"","block_context":{"text":"Iran","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/war-on-terror\/iran\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Iranian student Neda Soltani in her final moments","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Iranian-student-Neda-Soltani-in-her-final-moments.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Iranian-student-Neda-Soltani-in-her-final-moments.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Iranian-student-Neda-Soltani-in-her-final-moments.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Iranian-student-Neda-Soltani-in-her-final-moments.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":226,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/elegy-sweet-afton\/","url_meta":{"origin":3285,"position":3},"title":"Elegy – Sweet Afton","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"26th November 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"It was just another brand Just another cigarette Nothing of which to be proud Or noteworthy, but yet To those who with up have grown And those who it have smoked Lament its passing in these tough times And nostalgia it has provoked. It was my mothers cigarette For all\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Death"","block_context":{"text":"Death","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/death\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sweet Afton","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Sweet-Afton.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4769,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/john-darrell-boyd-elegy-on-an-deceased-airman\/","url_meta":{"origin":3285,"position":4},"title":"John Darrell Boyd – Elegy on an Deceased Airman","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"16th October 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"One of the few of your clan, you died... Who fought in so many wars over the years - Your young bride, the tears she must have cried, To see realised a spouses fears... What a shadow under which to be born, The story of your father, though little known!\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Death"","block_context":{"text":"Death","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/death\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writingsinrhyme.celtichosting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/SS-Almeda-Star.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writingsinrhyme.celtichosting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/SS-Almeda-Star.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writingsinrhyme.celtichosting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/SS-Almeda-Star.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4272,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/elegy-for-a-poet-i-once-knew\/","url_meta":{"origin":3285,"position":5},"title":"Elegy for a Poet I Once Knew","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"2nd February 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Alas,\u00a0 I learned of the passing of a poet Paul Curran I shared a stage with often at Scene of the Rhyme and other events. I didn't know him well, but enjoyed his works, and found him a pleasant down to earth person. He was part of the A-musing arts\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Obituaries"","block_context":{"text":"Obituaries","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/obituaries\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Paul Curran at the Scene of the Rhyme at F15 Festival in Tullamore in 2015","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Paul-Curran-at-the-Scene-of-the-Rhyme-at-F15-Festival-in-Tullamore-in-2015.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Paul-Curran-at-the-Scene-of-the-Rhyme-at-F15-Festival-in-Tullamore-in-2015.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Paul-Curran-at-the-Scene-of-the-Rhyme-at-F15-Festival-in-Tullamore-in-2015.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Paul-Curran-at-the-Scene-of-the-Rhyme-at-F15-Festival-in-Tullamore-in-2015.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Paul-Curran-at-the-Scene-of-the-Rhyme-at-F15-Festival-in-Tullamore-in-2015.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3285"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3285\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3291,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3285\/revisions\/3291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}