The Brief History Of Finland

Long before the ice age

there were people living in a place

now called the Wolf Cave

they were Neanderthals,

probably named

something as simple as Dave

they lived there for ages and ages

until the greatest of ice came,

filled up the place, and left no trace

The ice age spun every stone

uprooted every tree

stripping it to the bone

it destroyed everything in its path

flattened rocks and hills under its wrath

so that now our landscape

is level and lame

and where ever the ice stopped to rest

it left the biggest sandboxes

reaching all the way

from the forests of the east

to the vast seas of the west

After the ice

came the hunter-gatherers

who hunted and gathered

and were probably called Ed

Ed had traveled here

from the deep shores of Volga river

and he enjoyed pottery

but still had arrows in his quiver

Then came the Bronze Age

with nomads and feisty farmers

defending their meager living with rage

Now this is our forefather

so we'll name him Arthur

Arthur liked to keep cows, sheep, and goats

and also sow wheat, barley, and oats

they fought with bronze axes and daggers

which made the enemy hordes stagger

The Iron Age lasted through

Romans and Germans

but nobody wanted to conquer us

we were too far and too much fuss

until the Vikings came

and ensured the Swedish claim

and thus began the Middle Ages

as we can read in the history pages

The Swedes ruled us for six centuries

and then lost Finland's reign to its enemies

in the Finnish War against Russia

and Finland then became a Grand Duchy

(after Finns were a bit touchy)

of the Great Russian Empire

thus starting the nationalist fire

When the Russian Tsar was dethroned in 1917

Finns saw the opportunity at the political scene

to declare independence 6th of December

the most important date for Finns to remember

We decided for democracy

even though some people

were rooting for a kingdom

for ensuring our prosperity

But we did not start our journey in peace

the fighting had no place to cease

since brother rose against brother

sister against sister

The Swedish speaking Whites were upper class

The Reds workers and cottagers, so ordinary mass

dead bodies buried in the field

neither side willing to yield

blood run like rivers

it still gives people shivers

Older folk never talk about it

they just want to forget about it

It only lasted five months

the Finnish civil war

The Whites won

and probably had all the fun

For many, many years

there was peace and prosperity

until the Second World War

dragged us again into that barbarity

We fought against Russia twice

and paid the ultimate price

the lives of a good many men

and a huge chunk of land

Then the Germans

tried to invade through the north

but we pushed them back

to the Norway fjords

We were never occupied

a testament to the Finnish

determination and pride

Now we try to remain neutral

have good relations with everyone

we value our peace and quiet

so don't even think about starting a riot

#historyoffinland