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Edwin Brock (19 October 1927 – 7 September 1997 / Dulwich / London / England)
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Five Ways To Kill A Man
There are many cumbersome ways to kill a man.
You can make him carry a plank of wood
to the top of a hill and nail him to it. To do this
properly you require a crowd of people
wearing sandals, a cock that crows, a cloak
to dissect, a sponge, some vinegar and one
man to hammer the nails home.
Or you can take a length of steel,
shaped and chased in a traditional way,
and attempt to pierce the metal cage he wears.
But for this you need white horses,
English trees, men with bows and arrows,
at least two flags, a prince, and a
castle to hold your banquet in.
Dispensing with nobility, you may, if the wind
allows, blow gas at him. But then you need
a mile of mud sliced through with ditches,
not to mention black boots, bomb craters,
more mud, a plague of rats, a dozen songs
and some round hats made of steel.
In an age of aeroplanes, you may fly
miles above your victim and dispose of him by
pressing one small switch. All you then
require is an ocean to separate you, two
systems of government, a nation's scientists,
several factories, a psychopath and
land that no-one needs for several years.
These are, as I began, cumbersome ways
to kill a man. Simpler, direct, and much more neat
is to see that he is living somewhere in the middle
of the twentieth century, and leave him there.
Read poems about / on: ocean, people, home, wind, horse, tree
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lol... technology kills a man.
I have huge biceps, as I go to the gym everyday and drink musashi
ehhh wook who it is, ehhhh ehhh ehh
OMG! this is sooo right, i am very pleased with this.... I honestly think he is speaking the total truth about what is happening to society
Yes Edwin I agree..., it is a slow and painful death, but they are headed that way by the droves. But isn't it so inconvenient to die?
Very well written. The title pulls you in and you keep reading to find out more until you get to the totally
unexpected ending. Does this mean we are slowly killing ourselves?
Very well written. The title pulls you in and you keep reading to get to the ending with its unexpected
conclusion. Does this mean we are slowly killing ourselves?
Intriguing poem. I like the organization and that you start with the heart of the matter, the death of christ, and move through man's madness spiraling ouIntriguing poem. I like the organization and that you start with the heart of the matter, the death of christ, and move through man's madness spiraling outward into the thick of life across the eons.tward into the thick of life across the eons.
Intriguing poem. I like the organization and that you start with the heart of the matter, the death of christ, and move through man's madness spiraling outward into the thick of life across the eons.
why can't i comment here