Bertolt Brecht "Cantata on the Day of Lenin’s Death" https://challenge-magazine.org/2020/05/06/poetry-corner-a-few-poems-for-lenins-birthday/ https://cornucopiados.blogspot.com/2008/10/cantata-on-day-of-lenins-death-cita.html
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The day Lenin passed away A soldier of the death watch, so runs the story, told his comrades: I did not want to Believe it. I went inside, and Shouted in his ear: ‘Ilyich The exploiters are on their way!’ He did not move. Now I knew that he has expired. When Lenin passed away and was missed The victory had been won, but the land lay waste The masses had set out, but The way was dark As Lenin passed away Soldiers, sitting on the footpaths, wept And the workers went away from their machines And clenched their fists. As Lenin went, it was As if the tree said to its leaves I am off. Lenin is enshrined In the large heart of the working-class, He was our teacher. He carried on the struggle along with us. He is enshrined In the large heart of the working class.

— Bertolt Brecht on Vladimir Lenin

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "The day Lenin passed away A soldier of the death watch, so runs the story, told his comrades: I did not want to Believe it. I went inside, and Shouted in his ear: ‘Ilyich The exploiters are on their way!’ He did not move. Now I knew that he has expired. When Lenin passed away and was missed The victory had been won, but the land lay waste The masses had set out, but The way was dark As Lenin passed away Soldiers, sitting on the footpaths, wept And the workers went away from their machines And clenched their fists. As Lenin went, it was As if the tree said to its leaves I am off. Lenin is enshrined In the large heart of the working-class, He was our teacher. He carried on the struggle along with us. He is enshrined In the large heart of the working class." in the context of "Bertolt Brecht "Cantata on the Day of Lenin’s Death" https://challenge-magazine.org/2020/05/06/poetry-corner-a-few-poems-for-lenins-birthday/ https://cornucopiados.blogspot.com/2008/10/cantata-on-day-of-lenins-death-cita.html" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Quote Image
Source: Wikiquote: "Vladimir Lenin" (Quotes about Lenin: Alphabetized by author or source ) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Bertolt Brecht

About Bertolt Brecht

Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), commonly known as Bertolt Brecht, was a German Marxist dramatist, stage director and poet. He is remembered for the Distancing effect practice in performing arts (known in German as Verfremdungseffekt or V-Effekt).