Three Monkeys (WW2)

Cherry

By threeleafshamrock

Fri, 24 Apr 2009
  • 3147 reads
12 comments
 

The blind man in the watchtower
called out a warning cry;
There is smoke on the horizon
and ashes fill the sky.

Shut up you fool, cried out the mute,
your statement is a riddle.
You’re there to watch and not to shout;
and tune that bloody fiddle

I think I hear a bell toll;
Don’t you trust my ears at all?
But the deaf man was not heard now
as the bombs began to fall.

Meanwhile within a bunker
A long way underground
The self made king philosophized
and shot his faithful hound

Certificate U
Poem
The Words of War
Horror

Comments

Submitted by Curse of 222 on
it's not often that you come across a poem with this kind of rhyme and rhythm without it feeling contrived, but you've missed that trap completely. this is an engaging piece. well done. jason

jason

Submitted by threeleafshamrock on
Thanks Jason, I gave up on this a few times; maybe some would say I should have stayed 'given up' lol thanks for reading ;)

Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on
I agree with Jason's comments, wholeheartedly. You say so much here in such an uncontrived way which is indeed difficult with the rhyme structure you chose. You pulled it off admirably, Chris:-) My favourite stanza:- "I think I hear a bell toll; Don’t you trust my ears at all? But the deaf man was not heard now as the bombs began to fall." Tina xx

 

Submitted by chuck on
I get images of WW3.

Submitted by MistakenMagic on
'Meanwhile within a bunker A long way underground The self made king philosophized and shot his faithful hound' Ooo I just got chills from this final stanza. Have you seen the film 'Downfall'? It reminded me so much of this. Also have you read my poem 'No Evil' - under Holocaust Memorial Poetry? Same principle, same war just a different part of it ;) Loved this Chris and well done on the cherry! Magic xxx

 

Submitted by Dynamaso on
Late to the party but have to agree: this is a beauty, mate. Well done.

 

Submitted by jennifer on
Excellent stuff! Really flows beautifully! J x

 

Submitted by Jupiter on
Hey Chris! What do I know - but here goes... Excellent, love it, creativity at its coolest!! For me the line "your statement is a riddle" seemed a bit contrived but I love the two lines that follow it given the picture you have painted and having looked up 'riddle' and thought a little more I guess it means that the guy, even if he could see, couldn't possibly see the horizon due to the ashes filling the sky? I am learning that my vocabulary is indeed a little challenged ;). But you guys are waking me up ;). Got to say Chris, your stuff is good mate! Do you think in this topsy-turvy world that maybe the deaf man should be heard over the bombs? And perhaps the king, following his clever move, might be best eaten by his hound? Or have I got it all wrong and is this more a WW1 reference to a General in his bunker as his now war-crazy troops lose the battle? I'm rubbish at cryptic crosswords too ;)

Submitted by threeleafshamrock on
Hi J. thanks for your comment. This one was little ambiguous and more complex than some of my usual stuff. It's essentially about the 2nd world war. I sort of based it on the 'Three Monkeys'; 'Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil. It's a war that should have been anticipated - and indeed was in some quarters - but the powers that were in place at the time refused to acknowledge the possibility and sort of buried their heads in the sand. In the first stanza I am explaining that even a blind man could see it coming. Those that did and suggested it were called scaremongers and worse. The riddle line is a reference to the fact that Hitler literally entered a pact with Britain, France and Italy which gave Germany a piece of Czechoslovakia. The then British Prime minister [Chamberlain] flew home to England and announced upon landing; "I believe it is peace in our time". Shortly afterwards Germany took the rest of Czechoslovakia, then went on to invade Poland and the rest as they say is history. The second Stanza is a continuation and is conveying the feeling that, how long do you need to watch before you say something about it? The last line a reference to 'fiddling while Rome burns'. The third stanza refers to the fact that until the bombs were actually falling, it was STILL not realized or accepted that it could happen and advice to the contrary was still falling on deaf ears. The last stanza is a little more complicated; it could be attributed to Hitler in his bunker and I realized that most would read it that way. The kicker in this stanza is, that although I wanted readers to associate it with Hitler shooting his dog. I 'hid' an alternative meaning in there too; that the self made King was Satan and the hound was actually Hitler! This of course relating to the end of the war. Just something to give me a personal kick out of ;) Phew! That's the most explaining that I've done since the wife caught me kissing my cousin (home from America) that she had never met, LOL. Hope it helps J. and appreciate you taking the time to comment. Chris

Submitted by Jupiter on
Thanks Chris. Well throw me a grenade! I'm not sure whether to feel stupid and embarrassed for not seeing it or what? ;) I did say earlier on that I didn't feel best placed to comment on some of the work here and it's unfortunate that in trying to play along and comment as was suggested that I start with this little cryptogram. Oh well at least I gave it a shot. I think I need a bit more signposting for this stuff though and there's only so much humiliation I can take so I shall probably only be speaking through my own work from now on ;) Looking back I see that (WW2) was a clue but in my naievety I thought it might have been a typo and perhaps should have been WW1. :D And I suppose if I had remembered that Hitler killed his dog that might have been a big help. Whilst I salute your ingenuity, I think I like it best as a bit of eloquent inventive topsy turvy nonsense. I never want to have to work that hard when I read a poem although I do appreciate that the crypto crowd relish the challenge. I'm now wondering if I'm the sole blind monkey here and if all other readers and commenters understood prior to your explanation? For those who did work it out, is it simply a case of good general knowledge and familiarity with the form or are there other obvious pointers which I missed? Anyone else brave enough ( or foolish enough ;D ) to join me in my sinking U-boat? ;)

Submitted by threeleafshamrock on
Hey J. don't get serious on me now lol. Poetry - at least as I see it - is there to be enjoyed. I would never expect everything that was going through my mind at the time of writing to be clear as crystal to readers, - but sometimes a little ambiguity is a good thing. I prefer books to films! The reason I do is that, in a book I create an image of the characters, places and scenarios in my own head; I use my imagination. Sometimes when I see a movie of the the book, I am really disappointed. If you like something and you have a reason to like it; that's enough for me. In the last stanza, I don't expect anyone to equate the 'self made King' as SATAN; I guarantee everyone thinks that is Hitler (if anyone). I don't care because I KNOW and that little bit is just for me ;) I have been wrong about a lot of the stuff that I have read - but that's half the fun. Sometimes it can be like a jigsaw; I happen to like jigsaws. Thanks again and ENJOY! ;)

Submitted by Jupiter on
No worries Chris. ;) It was said with a smile on my face. Managed to use my embarrassment to write a short piece called Crypto-Babble: www.abctales.com/story/jupiter/crypto-babble Still hoping for some takers to my questions above though.