Guerre au Fripons
by Douglas Clark

Michelet's Archangel of Death:
Antoine-Louis-Léon Saint-Just,
Spirit of the Revolution.

Architect of the Terror;
Danton's destroyer; a level-headed killer;
As a teenager I adored you.

Blérancourt; The National Convention;
The Committee of Public Safety; Thermidor.
The free intellect loose in the world:

Camus' Caligula; the cruel injustice of the young.
'The tree of liberty must be refreshed
from time to time by the blood of patriots and tyrants.'

You would have re-invented the people,
They were not Spartan enough for your liking.
'A people has only one dangerous enemy: its government.'

'on ne peut pas régner innocemment'
'Those who make revolutions by half dig their own grave'
'The people must be made what they should be'

The young make their own history.