"So We Shot" is a poem that portrays the progression of a soldier in war. As a soldier begins war, he is almost excited, relating it to being a young boy playing and shooting at anything he can find. As he is exposed to more violence, we see the poem take a darker turn when the author describes shooting women and children. The poem ends on a sad note, with the author referencing the vast amount of Vietnam veterans who have committed suicide due to post traumatic stress disorder after the war. The poem is clear and concise and shows the clear transition from innocent young man to traumatized soldier.
The poem also points out that the soldiers in Vietnam often had no idea who they were shooting, simply referring to them as "the enemy". The Vietnamese women and children are given no description other than the color of their skin. The soldiers do not remember any details, or perhaps they do not choose to take any note of details. The Vietnam War took a toll on the psyche of soldiers, and "So We Shot" allows the reader to understand just what they may have gone through.
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tiffany, to me, this was one of the most powerful poems. good job!
ReplyDeleteThis poem was up there with one of my favorites. I mean how many times do you hear about this young mean entering vietnam and becoming scared for ever? This poem does such a great job portraying what the common young man went through. Great diction.
ReplyDeleteDo you think that this poem was in the format that it was for a reason? I thought that it showed better the transition you were speaking of because it was not broken up into multiple stanzas. I wrote about this poem too. It was really well written and really makes you think.
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