The Last Stand of Salvador Allende

"¡Viva Chile! ¡Viva el pueblo! ¡Vivan los trabajadores!" – Salvadore Allende

They say that before you die, your entire life flashes
before your eyes. They say it plays itself out like a movie
before the curtains finally close on the conscious mind.

Outside La Moneda, the coup d’etat gathers its forces,
inside, the President’s supporters are bewildered and isolated,
only the President knows what the end demands of him.

He knows the General’s coup will turn back the clock
of history. But he knows he will not take exile or resign.
He will not give one inch to the men who would kill him,

the men of tomorrow who would drown Chile in blood.
First, the past, then, the future is played out
in his mind’s eye – where he imagines himself dead.

Salvador Allende addresses the people of Chile on the radio:
History is ours… Tomorrow will belong to the people…
Long live Chile! Long live the people! Long live the workers!

He has nothing left in the world to give now but his own life.
This will be his last act of defiance – we are what we do.
He puts his rifle to his head and pulls the trigger on a brave life.

[]