Poems

The first poem in the book, “M-16A2 Assault Rifle,” is a good one. It goes into a lot of description about how a soldier views his personal weapon. Any soldier knows that his weapon is the most important thing he can be issued. Good boots may make marching less painful, a good sleeping bag will keep him warmer at night, but a rifle will save his life and therefore requires great care. Turner speaks about his weapon in a way that shows that it is something he takes great pains to care for. To this day I can still feel my old rifle in my hand, I can remember every crevice inside and out, I remember where I had to spend extra time cleaning, and I remember the tricks I learned to keep it operating. I smiled with nostalgia while reading this poem.

“First Engagement” is also an interesting poem. It details Turner and his platoon engaging a vehicle. Turner states how everything goes wrong for him: he misses when he shoots the first time and before he can correct his mistake he slips and is unable to do so before the shooting stops. Ultimately the entire engagement is pointless, the platoon is engaging a car with a father and son moving rebar to repair something at their house. My first engagement was also full of mistakes and confusion that don’t need getting into.

The poetry of Brian Turner seems to be less personal. Even when discussing events that he was present for or happened to him directly, he presents them in a way that is detached. Tim O’Brien for example was a very personable author. All of his stories, even the ones that had nothing to do with him were told in an incredibly passionate way: full of emotion and zest. Turner’s poetry is the opposite, it’s told in an almost sleepy way. There isn’t any passion, there is no personality; there is just detail.