Thursday, March 19, 2009

…[H]e would have explained… (153)
…[H]e would have tried anyway. (149)
…[H]e would have told the exact truth. (148).
[But] the town could not talk (143)
It was a brisk, polite town (143)
…[B]ut would not listen. (143)

[P]eople…never listen. (85)
So [the soldiers] lie there in the fog and keep their mouths shut. (73)
Can’t even talk to each other… (73)
Absolute silence… (72)
…[They]whispered (112)
…[B]ut that did not help much with the pain. (105)

…[E]verything’s really quiet… (122)
Not a single sound… (75)
[Except] this strange gook music that comes right out of the rocks. (73)
Can’t even talk to each other except in whispers… (73)
So they lie there in the fog and keep their mouths shut. (73)
All they do is listen. (73)

The sound. (107)
There was no sound. (105)
The town could not talk, and would not listen. (143).
…[It] could only blink and shrug. (143)
So they lie there in the fog and keep their mouths shut. (73)

All they do is listen. (73)

1 comment:

Ricky O. said...

My poem is basically just a discussion on the motif of silence in the novel. Both the soldiers and the towns they returned to remain silent, even though communication seemed to be greatly needed. I tried to use repetition in the poem to emphasize this needed communication.