Death Knell

Reading prison, a poem about it's closure. Oscar Wilde was once imprisoned there.

So Reading Gaol has now called time

and jangled keys no longer hold

bad men, condemned to barren cells.

Some gruesome crimes made blood run cold.

Long corridors still hear the sighs

of ghosts unready for goodbyes.

Confined behind high barricades,

they served their sentence, debt repaid,

but fiends who slayed with blades or hands

were deemed too wicked to be saved.

Imposed on them black cap means death,

a tightened noose, steals strangled breath.

And Oscar's torment, prison hell,

of misery and wretched woe

from France in exile, where he penned

of inmates there, not friend or foe

but humans off the beaten path

who lost all reason, stoked by wrath.

What now becomes of empty cells?

What future use for walls so steeped,

they ooze with all the grief they've reaped?

Reviews

[John the Baptist]

Very nicely rhymed, with imagery that brings a chill. The old style penal systems were definitely slanted toward punishment, rather than correction. And poor Wilde was there simply for being gay. Of course, in the US currently we have people doing hard time for marijuana offenses, which to me is like sending people to prison for alcohol offenses during prohibition.

[Chris Shaw]

Yes, Reading Gaol, famous for incarcerating Oscar Wilde because he was a homosexual. Your situation over there for marijuana offences, sucks too. I agree with you entirely. Alcohol is far more dangerous. Those old prisons ghastly places, in fact little has changed today. Many thanks for your thoughtful review.

Chris

[Tate Morgan]

We here in the states have 5 times as many incarcerated per-capita than any other country. Yet we seem to neverlearn from the lessons of the old world. I like the formula you used for this.

[Chris Shaw]

Hello Tate, that is one huge number of people incarcerated and one wonders why the numbers are so high. Incarceration should be a last resort, maybe you have many who could be given sentences in the community? Thank you for checking this one out and I'm pleased you enjoyed the formula for this write.

Chris

[Tate Morgan]

You’re welcome As I see it the only reason we have so many incarcerated is that when they did away with slavery with the 13th amendment to the constitution they added a little comment that says something to the effect except in the case of incarceration. You are a slave if you are incarcerated and they are free to use you as such.

[Chris Shaw]

Dreadful thinking. Thank you for the history lesson.

[Dave]

Thankfully - slowly, but ever so slowly in many places of incarceration the conditions are getting better. Several years ago, while on vacation I had the opportunity to visit Alcatraz in San Francisco. Even empty, I could not imagine what it must have been like to be in there.

Take care - Dave

[Chris Shaw]

That must have been some visit Dave. There have been improvements. Those Victorian prisons in my poem were something else! Thanks for checking this one out. Appreciated.

Chris

[Dave]

I'm a student of history and I'm positive that Alcatraz, compared to the prisons of the Victorian era was probably like heaven for the inmates.
Thanks for getting back to me - take care - Dave

[Chris Shaw]

Many thanks Dave.

[Onlyme]

Hypnotically catchy with great imagination held within this nice, tight, deep, intriguing tale of a scary true to life tale. That did happen in the past. Nowadays jails give them televisions, phone calls and even sexual visitation rights. Far from those straight to the point tortures times.

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you Dawn. Yes prisons these days aren't anything like the hell holes back in Victorian times. So much history steeped in those walls.

Chris

[Phill Oz O'fee]

Well this certainly got my old historical grey cells spinning. From 1844 until 2013 a lot of history has occurred behind the prison’s walls. There have been calls for the prison building to be preserved as a tourist attraction, and Reading Council have confirmed that they intend to retain the complex (it is a listed building). In June 2014 it was proposed that the site could be converted into a theatre venue. However, in November 2015 it was announced by Chancellor George Osborne and Justice Secretary Michael Gove that the site was to be sold to housing developers.

In May 2016 it was announced that the former prison would be made available as an arts venue for the Reading 2016 Year of Culture programme.

By the way - the dedicatee of Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Ballad of Reading Gaol’ was one Charles Thomas Wooldridge, a Royal Horse Guard trooper who murdered his wife.

What a great share... well done!

[Chris Shaw]

Many thanks yous Phill for an awesome review. You have certainly done your homework. We wait with interest to see what the future holds. The history speaks for itself.

Chris

[duck]

dark life of HMP. loved inclusion of ghosts.

[Chris Shaw]

Dark places indeed duck. Bad enough nowadays but far worse back then when Oscar Wilde was incarcerated. Thank you for reviewing.

Chris

[Gee]

Good morning ma'am :)
Well written ( the norm) and for me a wee bit educational, never new Oscar Wilde was imprisoned there.
You seem to have a never ending stash of these little gems Christine :))
Hope all is well with you in chilly Berks.

[Chris Shaw]

Good morning Gee. Yes it's chilly. I don't go out of my way to be educational (lol). I just write about things that grab my attention. All OK here apart from lack of sleep I'm not a good sleeper. Hope you and yours are OK.

Chris

[Gee]

Sleep, overrated if you ask me. Gonna get plenty of that when the Grim fella comes a callin'.
All good here thanks, apart from being work knackered

[Dhara_Ditzy Kat]

Reading the poem took me down those dark dungeons and dark deathly galleys. I especially love the line on ghosts unready for goodbyes. Yet those cells, those walls are so steeped in the murky past, I feel they should be preserved as part of our cultural heritage. A very informative and interesting write, Chris!

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you Ditzy. Hopefully, it will be become an arts centre. That is the talk. We have a new kitten Ditzy, she is gorgeous. You know how much I love cats:))

[Dhara_Ditzy Kat]

Ohhh. Kittens are so adorable, Chris. Give her a furry toy for me! Say I said hello and to keep warm 💕(waves)

[NotUsinganymore]

I liked the ryhme and description you gave. It was a nice poem!

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you JungLee. I owe you some reviews. I'll make a point of checking your work out later today.

Chris

[NotUsinganymore]

Alrgiht thank you c:

[Eilis]

Excellent foray into a philosophical topic, Chris.

I think prisons can still be quite inhuman and still do a pretty poor job of reforming, but I think we are often too fond of quick solutions to pursue policies that might offer more long-term benefits for everyone. A deeper look into other aspects of society itself might yield some answers.

But, those are complex issues and questions. It’s great to see a poem that approaches the subject in the way you have. It leaves the door open for readers to form their own thoughts.

The first ballad I read when I started writing and was Oscar’s on Reading Gaol. Still something I aspire to. It was a friend in the UK that recommended it to me, and it took me a little bit to realize that ‘gaol’ was the American ‘jail’. One of the many things I’ve learned through the study of poetry, haha.

We have many prisons here that are said to be haunted. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit.

Great work, as ever, Chris.

[Chris Shaw]

I really appreciate your reviews Eilis. I deliberately left these lines open enough to allow readers to meander through with their own thoughts. Much to think about with prisons. Locking people up for minor offences is absurd, and yet it happens all the time while those who should get excluded from society permanently seem to be able to appeal the sentence and serve less than they should. And then there are the Oscars of this world. Love that poem. One of the first I read. All good wishes.

Chris