Hi Norm
A very disturbing poem indeed and one that will invoke a strong reaction in the reader.
I have to believe that the narrator is only working so close to such attrocities because he is hiding from a similar fate and that his prison is his fear of being discovered.
Any other interpretation would be unpalatable and would make him as culpable as those in the watch tower - complicit in the whole act of genocide, watching and doing nothing.
I like that the poet doesn't limit this to a time and place. It could be any group anywhere and at any time, past, present or future.
I hope it's ok to quote excerpts - if not, please delete
Quote:and nodding with each round of gunfire
mumbling praise to their leader
and his god whose righteousness and mercy
he mirrors while I keep to my work
Why is it that these mass murderers use God and religion to justify their actions. I like that god is not capitalised, showing it isn't the narrator's god and he is not a "believer" in this "city of believers"
Good play on "graveyard shift"
Masked men is another good way of making this universal. The gunmen are featureless, just killing machines.
red in on red pads, gives the picture of blood and at the same time illustrates the recording and concealing.
Standard-issue ashtrays is an excellent way of very quickly and simply showing the type of oppression the rulers enforce.
I need to think more about the last verse. At the moment I don't really understand it though I wonder if it is to do with the flame of passion or life seeming as remote as stars.