THE ROAD TO HELL Options

[Alan]

THE ROAD TO HELL

To save our souls,
they bomb us
into the seventh century.

To save our souls,
we bomb them
into the twenty-first ....

Alan McAlpine Douglas

[Guest_Altay_*]

Interesting. Says a lot without saying a lot. Out of curiosity, who is us and who is them in the first stanza? Are they reversed in the second?

[Alan]

Dear Altey,

Thanks for the response. I was leaving it vague, but informed guesses are fine.

Perhaps they are religious fanatics, while we are industrialized nations ?

My point is the irony of anyone bombing anyone else, which I assume is an attempt to influence behaviour, when the bombing actually cancells all behaviour, thus cannot influence it.

Love
Alan

[Thoth]

Ah but it is the effect on the survivors that counts!
Bombing, spears or clubs, the method has evolved but mass intimidation has been around since the beginning of human consciousness.

Good food for thought and cleverly constructed Alan, I love it.

best, Wally

[Alan]

Dear Wally,

Thank you very much.

Great to have you mooching about again !

Love
Alan

[Marc-Andre Germa...]

Alan,

I share Altay's questions here, who are "us" and who are "they". Bombed back into the dark ages...sounds like a line the Iraqis could use.

In response to your comments, words like religious fanatics and terrorists often prove nothing but a question of point-of-view.

As for "we bomb them into the twenty-first", it can be but offensive (quite an assinine statement, actually)to whomever "them" are...Unless you were trying to draw a link between the seventh and twenty-first century, which is not what it looks like to me, it is hard to interpret this piece as anything else but arrogant, war-mongering, contemptuous bigotry.What saves the poem here from being labeled as hate literature (and make it a rather intriguing piece) is the title: "The Road to Hell." Perhaps it's just me, but I think it would be safer to add a little something to distance the author from the narrator, especially because of the uneducated way too many read poetry nowadays, automatically associating the poem with the views of the author. But in the body of poem, what else is there? Perhaps you'd like to make this (clearly) a dramatic monologue. Or at least include one or two elements of humour writing.

Perhaps it's just me.

Also, since you italicise "them", perhaps you should do the same with "us."

I hope it helps.

Mark

[Marc-Andre Germa...]

Alan,

Pondering further over it, "to save our souls" does create an ambiguity, a layer of depth that didn't sink in at first reading.

I like when a piece keeps me thinking.

Mark

[Alan]

Dear Mark,

I think my main purpose has been achieved - to point up the stupidity of bombing, whatever way, full stop.

It is the ultimate Godfathers' offer - can't refuse, cuz we were never even given the choice.

I had wondered about the "us" in italics, not yet convinced. Thank you for your carefully put thoughts.

There is hate in this piece - of the mindset which produces such solutions. The "Balance of Terror" in the cold war is another example. I read somewhere of a bigwig boasting "We can annihilate them 2000 times over". What, once is not enough ?

Love
Alan

[Guest_ohsteve_*]

Alan, beautifully crafted and wonderfully worded, I don't think war has ever solved anything except maybe a population problem, but perhaps like Swift said we should carve up the children and serve then for our supper... didn't he say something like that? heck its late and I'm tired.

Steve