What Has Happened?

Bertolt Brecht 1898 (Augsburg) – 1956 (East Berlin)



The industrialist is having his aeroplane serviced.
The priest is wondering what he said in his sermon eight weeks ago
about tithes.
The generals are putting on civvies and looking like bank clerks.
Public officials are getting friendly.
The policeman points out the way to the man in the cloth cap.
The landlord comes to see whether the water supply is working.
The journalists write the word People with capital letters.
The singers sing at the opera for nothing.
Ships' captains check the food in the crew's galley,
Car owners get in beside their chauffeurs.
Doctors sue the insurance companies.
Scholars show their discoveries and hide their decorations.
Farmers deliver potatoes to the barracks.
The revolution has won its first battle:
That's what has happened.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

38 sec read
118

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCCDEFCFDCCCCGH
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 761
Words 127
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 16

Bertolt Brecht

Bertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, theatre director, and Marxist. more…

All Bertolt Brecht poems | Bertolt Brecht Books

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