On May 26, 2:45 am, "Cyrano de B." <C...@no.deB> wrote:
> Hi
>
> I have a problem understanding a line in a poem by Charles Bukowski. The
> poem is "The crunch".
>
> Here is an excerpt:
>
> *********
> ...
> our educational system tells us
> that we can all be
> big-ass winners
>
> it hasn't told us
> about the gutters
> or the suicides.
>
> or the terror of one person
> aching in one place
> alone
>
> untouched
> unspoken to
>
> watering a plant.
>
> people are not good to each other.
> people are not good to each other.
> people are not good to each other.
>
> I suppose they never will be.
> I don't ask them to be.
>
> but sometimes I think about
> it.
>
> the beads will swing
> the clouds will cloud
> and the killer will behead the child
> like taking a bite out of an ice cream cone.
> ...
> *******
>
> What does "the beads will swing" mean? I must admit I don't understand. Do
> the beads refer to a rosary? Or dew? Something else? And "swing"? It can
> mean so many things...
>
> Any help greatly appreciated!
>
> Cyrano de B.
Your question illuminates the flip-side of writing about what you know
best. Beads, of course, come in all sizes, shapes, and materials. Many
counter-culture folks - in Venice, California and across the globe -
often wear long bead necklaces and place long strings of beads in
doorways to visually separate rooms and mark space. I don't know
whether the poet is referring to a bead necklace that will swing when
worn or a line of beads hanging in a doorway, but "beads will swing"
in either case. It's a simple statement noting the nature of the
world. The sun will rise. Babies will cry. Teachers will write too
many words to explain a simple idea.
I hope this helps. Enjoy the poem. I just saw a very depressing, yet
revealing Dutch film called Black Book that illuminates, once again,
that people often will act in cruel, vicious, and petty ways - or at
least did in World War II.
The poem and the movie fit like a glove.
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