Nightmare Number Three Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABCDEFGHIJKLDMNOPQRS TUVWXY ZA2B2FC2RD2E2RF2G2H2 FI2J2K2L2SM2N2JO2P2Q 2R2S2JT2FJC2U2M2JLFV 2W2X2CD B2JY2JZ2O2JJY2A3B3| We had expected everything but revolt | A |
| And I kind of wonder myself when they started thinking | B |
| But there s no dice in that now | C |
| I ve heard fellow say | D |
| They must have planned it for years and maybe they did | E |
| Looking back you can find little incidents here and there | F |
| Like the concrete mixer in Jersey eating the wop | G |
| Or the roto press that printed 'Fiddle dee dee ' | H |
| In a three color process all over Senator Sloop | I |
| Just as he was making a speech The thing about that | J |
| Was how could it walk upstairs But it was upstairs | K |
| Clicking and mumbling in the Senate Chamber | L |
| They had to knock out the wall to take it away | D |
| And the wrecking crew said it grinned | M |
| It was only the best | N |
| Machines of course the superhuman machines | O |
| The ones we d built to be better than flesh and bone | P |
| But the cars were in it of course | Q |
| and they hunted us | R |
| Like rabbits through the cramped streets on that Bloody Monday | S |
| The Madison Avenue busses leading the charge | T |
| The busses were pretty bad but I ll not forget | U |
| The smash of glass when the Duesenberg left the show room | V |
| And pinned three brokers to the Racquet Club steps | W |
| Or the long howl of the horns when they saw men run | X |
| When they saw them looking for holes in the solid ground | Y |
| - | |
| I guess they were tired of being ridden in | Z |
| And stopped and started by pygmies for silly ends | A2 |
| Of wrapping cheap cigarettes and bad chocolate bars | B2 |
| Collecting nickels and waving platinum hair | F |
| And letting six million people live in a town | C2 |
| I guess it was tha I guess they got tired of us | R |
| And the whole smell of human hands | D2 |
| But it was a shock | E2 |
| To climb sixteen flights of stairs to Art Zuckow s office | R |
| Noboby took the elevators twice | F2 |
| And find him strangled to death in a nest of telephones | G2 |
| The octopus tendrils waving over his head | H2 |
| And a sort of quiet humming filling the air | F |
| Do they eat There was red But I did not stop to look | I2 |
| I don t know yet how I got to the roof in time | J2 |
| And it s lonely here on the roof | K2 |
| For a while I thought | L2 |
| That window cleaner would make it and keep me company | S |
| But they got him with his own hoist at the sixteenth floor | M2 |
| And dragged him in with a squeal | N2 |
| You see they co perate Well we taught them that | J |
| And it s fair enough I suppose You see we built them | O2 |
| We taught them to think for themselves | P2 |
| It was bound to come You can see it was bound to come | Q2 |
| And it won t be so bad in the country I hate to think | R2 |
| Of the reapers running wild in the Kansas fields | S2 |
| And the transport planes like hawks on a chickenyard | J |
| But the horses might help We might make a deal with the horses | T2 |
| At least you ve more chance out there | F |
| And they need us too | J |
| They re bound to realize that when they once calm down | C2 |
| They ll need oil and spare parts and adjustments and tuning up | U2 |
| Slaves Well in a way you know we were slaves before | M2 |
| There won t be so much real difference honest there won t | J |
| I wish I hadn t looked into the beauty parlor | L |
| And seen what was happening there | F |
| But those are female machines and a bit high strung | V2 |
| Oh we ll settle down We ll arrange it We ll compromise | W2 |
| It won t make sense to wipe out the whole human race | X2 |
| Why I bet if I went to my old Plymouth now | C |
| Of course you d have to do it the tactful way | D |
| And said 'Look here Who got you the swell French horn ' | - |
| He wouldn t turn me over to those police cars | B2 |
| At least I don t think he would | J |
| Oh it s going to be jake | Y2 |
| There won t be so much real difference honest there won t | J |
| And I d go down in a minute and take my chance | Z2 |
| I m a good American and I always liked them | O2 |
| Except for one small detail that bothers me | J |
| And that s the food proposition Because you see | J |
| The concrete mixer may have made a mistake | Y2 |
| And it looks like just high spirits | A3 |
| But if it s got so they like the flavor well | B3 |
Stephen Vincent Benet
(1)
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About Nightmare Number Three
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