Fragment : “Cramped in that funneled hole”

By Wilfred Owen

Cramped in that funneled hole, they watched the dawn
Open a jagged rim around; a yawn
Of death’s jaws, which all but swallowed them
Stuck in the middle of his throat of phlegm.

(And they remembered Hell has many mouths),
They were in one of many mouths of Hell
Not seen of seers in vision; only felt
As teeth of traps; when bones and the dead are smelt
Under the mud where long ago they fell
Mixed with the sour sharp odour of the shell.

Comments : The first time I actually saw army bunkers (albeit ones that were used during a decades old war), I was shocked at how uncomfortable and claustrophobic they were – the sight made me realize some of the very real discomforts that those on the battle-field face. The first two lines of this poem and the ‘jagged rim’ of the sunrise grabbed my attention because they described the limited view from inside a bunker so well. The analogy with Death’s jaws made this a truly unforgettable poem.

In the context of the events of November 26th in Mumbai, I wonder if these two paragraphs describe the plight of those who were trapped in the Taj, Oberoi or Nariman House.
- Zenobia

About the Poet :
Wilfred Owen is one of the best-known poets of the First World War. All of Owen’s important work in poetry was written in just over a year, the last year of his life, and almost all of it is about the war. ‘My subject is War, and the pity of War’, he declared. ‘The poetry is in the pity’. ‘All a poet can do today is warn’, he went on. ‘That is why the true poets must be truthful’.
One of his famous poems titled ‘Futility’ (http://www.cs.rice.edu/~ssiyer/minstrels/poems/288.html) is part of the school syllabus in many secondary schools.
For more informaion on Wilfred Owen, check the following :
http://www.firstworldwar.com/poetsandprose/owen_editors.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilfred_Owen