Friday, October 16, 2009

Boy in a Rice Paddy, Head Shot

My intial reaction to this poem was, "Wow." This piece of literature is filled to the brim with beautiful symbolism and structure. You feel as though you really can connect with what the writer wants you to. My favorite line, "and a smile on the sniper's lip," really got me connected and allowed me to see that we take so much for granted in out lives. Sometimes we never even glance at the simple pleasures when that is all we need to see the light in dark situations. "Like a frantic mother." With this I was able to connect and see the fear and tragety of war. Sometimes I begin to wonder how any one person could survive the horrors and psychological traumas that these soldiers do. I mean dealing with the death of anyone is hard, but what is it like for them to see death constantly? To look it directly in the eyes every time they step onto that fighting plane. This was exellent illustration of both of the physical and psychological hardships of war.

3 comments:

  1. This poem makes me realize that at times we don't have ANY control of our own lives. Also, life is very fragile and sometimes over looked.

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  2. i agree austin, all these poems make me think about the simple pleasures we take for granted a lot of the time. nice, thoughtful response!

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  3. The imagery used, and the line, “a smile on the sniper's lip” gives somewhat of an eerie feeling while reading this. Another thing that stood out was the description of the evacuation helicopter, and the line of the gunner, “Only One?”, as if he were expecting more losses – it’s a wonder how people can cope with such memories.

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