The beads will swing (???)

[Cyrano de B.]

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.

[[e-mail]]

Post by Cyrano de B.
Hi
I have a problem understanding a line in a poem by Charles Bukowski. The
poem is "The crunch".
*********
...
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.