For Whom The Hammer Tolls
For Whom The Hammer Tolls
Dreaming of a hammer
A slow arc of deadly intent
A shaper of metal
The clang of contact
On a wrought iron anvil
That resonates threat
The white-hot sparks
From the red-hot ingot
As it succumbs
Weighing its power
In the palm of your hand
With a smack of skin
Its dull grey mass
Balanced perfectly
On a shaft of wood
Clang! Goes the beat
Clang! It rings out
Clang! It warns
It builds a nation
As it strikes down
Onto railroad steel
Chiming through the mountains
That succumb to its urgent
Creeping progress
It destroys a nation
As it strikes down
On the hungry and oppressed
On a warm day
With the sun beating down
On rocks and boulders
The punishment
Of the chain gang
On a Georgia road
Where crime is the anvil
And justice falls heavily
Like a tempered steel blow
It is constructive
It is destructive
It is a righteous hammer
Ian Whiteley
Fri 15th May 2020 14:57
cheers Po - glad you liked it.
Yes - I think 'Bayonet' is probably one of my best - it works both as a poem and a song and the message is much bigger than the picture it seems to paint - I don't know if I've shared the song with you - apologies if I have - but here it is: https://soundcloud.com/the-man-at-the-back-1/the-bayonet-in-the-shed