The bodies in the barracks
were buried by the bombs.
In time, the church was chiming -
a charnel house of bells;
the bells had been recycled
to propagate a war
but bodies of destruction
are like to be restored.
And so the bells ring on,
though boys must be reborn;
the soldiers who steered steel toed
across the fields are gone.
Born to replace them
come foundry men to the fire,
come lost wax castings, bullet casings,
blood, molten desire.
Come, smithies, to the furnace;
come, bellringers in earnest!
A contest entry
- Lest We Forget by Cupcrazy.
1750 points, ended November 23, 2008, 17 entries
Honorable mention
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Memories of Sacrifice - Winklings #142 by Lyndon.
1750 points, ended November 17, 2008, 15 entries
Silver trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - BELLS by Vera Rich.
1180 points, ended February 6, 7 entries
Honorable mention
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Comments
1 - 17 of 17
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This is very effective. To me it has the rhythm of a peal of bells, a regular carillon of words which alliterate through the poem in a fascinating way. Bells are such a strong symbol of so many things: birth, funerals, war, peace, hope, tragedy - a never ending list. I wish that bullet casings might be forged into bells of peace. Let us wish it together. Well Done.
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Thank you, they do get forged into bells of peace; the trouble is they get melted down again for ordnance when needed.
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This is an interesting piece, and I like your use of rhyme and assonance.
There is just one line that worries me a little:
"Come, smithies, to the furnace". A "smithy" is surely the place where metal-working is done, and will have a "furnace" or at least a fire, in it.
But for the rest, I am most impressed!
Did you know, by the way, that the very early pieces of ordnance were produced by bell-founders (since they had the expertise to work in bronze) and hence not only did their early efforts have bell-shaped barrels, but they carried over the custom of giving them personal names - beginning with the archetypal "Lady Gunnilda" herself.
Later: Regarding your explanation of your use of "smithy" - I shall check what the OED has to say on this point next time I go to the library. -
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If it's a word that is unknown to you, I am willing to bet it is an "old English" usage that has simply fallen out of use in modern day Britain, but I assure you it survives in the colonies.
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Thank you, but a "smithy" can be the blacksmith himself. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/smithy
Yes, I know that about bell founders. I have given tours in English of the largest bell museum in Germany. Many of the bells in the collection have in fact been recycled back and forth into cannons and ship propellers, etc. and some more than once.
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Good use of poetic device in interpreting a different view on war. The piece had a wonderful rhythm and the repetition of "come" made this a joy to read aloud.
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This is a fine poem for an Armistice Day
Firstly, the free verse form has some irregular rhyme which tonally enhances this poem. The rhyming reminds me of the irregular rhyme of the present poet laureate of the USA. Fine alliteration with the plosive Bs at the beginning, accentuated by the stressed syllables is rather wonderfully expressed.
"a charnel house of bells" is an excellent metaphor as is "molten desire".
The understatement of "but boys must be reborn" is deftly executed and poignant.
Finally, the imperatives introduced by "Come ..." show a true poet at work of equal stature to any war poet of the C20, in my opinion.
Thank you for the privilege of reading and adding some appreciative thoughts.
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so sad the human toll of war captured in your poem...makes one a witness to the destruction in reflection.
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What a write
I see that you feel the same way about war-this war. The foundry of arms and the fauder of flesh boil in this furnace of sorrow. And then we find ourselves at the charnel with eyes low. -c
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Better Bells than Bullets.
Better Song than Sorrow. -
This is extremely true and correct. I can't believe how accuratly you cought the line 'born to replace them, come fundry men to the fire' those lines holds so much truth. Thank you for writing this.
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A beautiful piece Ea, I loved the rhyme and the truth of this piece, it is heartfelt rendering, I especially loved the phrase of the recycled bells, isn't it so true that everything in this world seems to be recycled, from hatred to war, from bells to bugles, the rise and fall, the call and the lament. Beautiful work Hugs, Bunny
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Thank you, Bunny - yes, they literally melted down the bronze to make cannons and more recently, ship propellers and warheads from the bells. Many bells that were confiscated for this and never used, came back to our bell museum where I give tours. Some of the bells have been recycled several times over throughout all the wars in Germany and have been recast into bells from the war machines.
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That is very intriguing ea, I think there is a poem in there, The Life Of A Bell, if it could only speak, I wonder how it would vocalize its emotion. The low rumble of displeasure in war and the peals of jubilation which herald peace. Gives one a lot to ponder poetically!
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Interesting write here
OK you followed some of the rules and if you told what the sun and moon are doing all the rules would be complete . Tavern asked me to read the poems and help him see what he can do to make all the poems pass the rules he had on the contest .Could you add into your poem something about the moon and the sun
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Way to break the rules! I really enjoyed this write. It flows like water, and stirs a semi-patriotic feeling in me.
(I'm not much of a patriot, so that's an accomplishment!)
Very dramatic, and well written.
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The rules clearly state, "NO RHYME".
Please edit to accomodate this or remove this entry and submit a new one.
This is a shame, because this a great poem, actually.
"come foundry men to the fire,
come lost wax castings, bullet casings,
blood, molten desire."
Great stuff, though the last line is not very conclusiory, if you don't mind me saying.
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