"The Colonel"

1)      Reading this poem for the first time was fascinating.  All I remember are the ears at the end, especially the part where the colonel dropped one into a glass of water and it came alive, I wonder what the author is suggesting.  At first the colonel didn't seem like a bad man, but towards the end when he brought the sack of ears out he seemed like a monster.  I don't understand what the colonel meant regarding the rights of the narrator's "people."

2)      After reading the poem for a second time I'm still unsure about the meaning of the poem.  I know that the Colonel is not a good man and is someone who is feared because the narrator was warned to not say anything in response to his actions, his dangerous home that has glass shards embedded in the walls, and the sack of ears.  I think the author is trying to suggest something through the sack of ears because ears can't carry life by themselves.  The ears could be a representation of the people in the narrator's country where some ignore what is going on and others want to face it.