Poetry Response 1: "The Colonel" by Carolyn Forche

 I thought this poem was interesting because of the ears that were still alive, that were able to still hear but not be able to talk about what they hear with others.  From my analysis I found that the poem was a memory the narrator was recalling and telling someone about.  As if it was a miracle that she survived such an event.  The memory started out as if everything was normal, the daughter was filing her nails, and his wife was preparing tea.  But then when the narrator states that the walls in the house had glass embedded in the walls, it started to shed the Colonel's true personality because when I first looked at the title I thought it meant a man who is dependable and trustworthy; someone who protects others for good.  But my initial thought of the Colonel changed after I read the poem.  When the narrator said that the glass was there to "scoop the kneecaps from a man's legs or cut his hands to lace," the Colonel's image changed to a tyrannical man who is after power and is someone who does not care about anyone.  The image that the narrator describes about the glass is so grotesque which makes the Colonel seem like a monster.  But then the Colonel provides the narrator with a lavish dinner which I thought contradicted his character because he's so ruthless.  When the Colonel brought out the sack of ears after dinner, I was really surprised because it was unexpected especially after such a lovely meal.  But then what was even more bizarre was the fact that the ears were still alive and were listening to his voice.  I think that represents how the "dead are listening."  Meaning no secret will go untold, what the Colonel did to those people will be heard some way.  I think the theme of the poem is that death is not deaf, murder and unfair treatment will be heard.