October 25, 1917: A Poem

November 7, 1917, illustration Hugo Gellert USA, 1930 (October 25, 1917 (Old Style/Julian) corresponds to November 7, 1917 in the modern Gregorian calendar.)

October 25, 1917

Again I think, re-picturing the way

My land has passed, the battles it has seen.

The world has never lived through such a day

As that great day in 1917.

It was and still remains the source of sources

And we are living witnesses to this;

That day the working people mustered forces

And first emerged from misery's abyss!

That day our people first attained full stature

Unbending backs that ached with thankless toil.

Yes, one-time slaves, for the first time in ages

Became the masters of their native soil.

For the first time, despite its countless foes

Above this land of boundless length and girth

The workers' and the peasants' star arose -

Till recently the only one on earth.

All we have built or not yet built, perhaps,

But doubtlessly will carry to completion

Took source that autumn day from thunderclaps,

That heralded the People's Revolution.

That day, suffused with grim gunpowder smoke,

Became our holiday - the brightest and most treasured.

The joy that its recurrences evoke

Can never be and never will be measured.

Mikhail Isakovsky (1900-1973).

Mikhail Isakovsky was a Soviet poet and lyricist best known for writing the words to iconic songs like “Katyusha”, which became one of the most famous musical symbols of the USSR.

Isakovsky was born 19 January 1900 in Glotovka, Smolensk Governorate, to a poor peasant family. He learned to read and write largely through self-study, aided by access to newspapers and books. His first published poem, “The Soldier’s Request”, appeared in 1914.

He joined the Communist Party in 1918 and worked as a teacher and newspaper editor in Smolensk before moving to Moscow in 1931 to focus on writing.

Isakovsky received two Stalin Prizes (1943, 1949) for his songwriting was named a Hero of Socialist Labour in 1970, four Orders of Lenin and other medals.