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.

Heart Of Darkness

While reading Conrad's passages in his book, The Heart of Darkness, I noticed many comparisons and views that he had about Africa. It seemed to me like he compared Africa and Europe to each other, mostly criticizing the way Europeans criticize Africa. He believes that many Europeans and westerners are ignorant to the problems in Africa, and the culture that surrounds it. Conrad believes that western civilizations have become hypocrites due to imperialism. They want to spread peace, but their idea of peace is invading and imposing their beliefs to other civilizations. This historically has been the case of not only Africa, but the entire world. It seems like every nation has been impacted in some way by imperialism, and Conrad firmly believes that Africa does not need the influence of any western civilization. While watching Apocalypse Now, I saw some of the hypocrisy that Conrad stated. The Americans seemed to feel like the Vietnamese people were inferior to them, by calling them 'gooks' and by bombing villages without mercy. We tried to influence a nation that did not seek our help, and therefore both parties suffered. In my opinion, the United States should not play the role of the world police. What we should do is contact nations and see if they would like any humanitarian assistance, and go from there. If they want our help, great, but if they don't, who are we to impose on their human rights? We as citizens of earth, should be willing to help each other, and sometimes war cannot be avoided, but sometimes it can, and should.

Martin poems

The poem “The War Was Good, Thank you”, I think Martin is expressing his fear of doing something wrong that might get him in trouble; he was reluctant to commit in the military completely because by being too active may be perceived differently, not that he is afraid of the war, but he recognized that for soldiers in Iraq, the real war is internal, within the military. The poem “Assault Rifle” is quite a simple poem, showed that how bored he was staying in the military, some days was just like some days, all day every day endless repetitively performing the same procedure, with no convincing reason to himself of doing so. Personally, comparing Martin’s poem with other war poets, Martin’s poem was more appealing to me, more entertaining without complexity or symbols. War poets all were trying to represent the same experience during war; however, what makes Martin different from all others was his attitude, he does not share the common deep philosophical thoughts, and that’s what makes him great. Because sometimes, with over polishing symbolism, it is though for readers to be engage and to correctly interpret the author’s message. 

The Stick Soldiers

            Throughout the course the literature that we have read has been at least in my case of wars that have occurred in the past. In The stick Soldier, the poems of Hugh Martin stand out a bit more because I can relate more to the historical events that make up that moment in time.  For Example in his poem The Summer of Crawling, Martin, retells us a day of training and army exercises. At first I just pictured young men just crawling in the dirt, however, the poem ends with an army chant, “gotta train, gotta train, gotta train to kill Hussein”. This made me think of all the media coverage that was giving to the war at the beginning. It made what I was reading feel more real, and every word left a lasting impression. The other poem that caught my attention was titled Tomorrow, We Go Up North. Here we have soldiers who are ready for combat, but that for many is their first time in this sort of situation. I think something that has stood out for me in most of these books, poems, novels and short story is that most of our main characters are young guys that have to face difficult situations at an early part of their lives. These soldiers have not lived enough to be prepared to handle all the curve balls that war has to offer. Just young dude drinking “non-alcoholic beer”    

Stick Soldiers

One poem by Hugh Martin that I enjoyed was M-16A2 Assault Rifle. Martin speaks about his gun as if it was his most prized possession. He takes more care of the weapon than his own self, saying “Some days I clean the rifle so it shines, a cold slice of darkness in grease-stained hands”. It seems odd to me that someone could look at an object that could destroy a life and cause so much destruction with such love and care, much like parents look at their own children. It is true that Martin’s gun is a weapon, but to him it is almost a means of protection. It’s the only thing that stands between him and survival.

Another example of Martin’s work that I thought was exceptionally good was the poem Desert Nocturne. Martin describes running out to save his clothes from the rain, but being too late. This poem had nothing to do with war or battle. It was a small memory that even people who have never been away at war can relate to. It makes Martin seem more human and not an unattainable idea.

Tim O’Brian and Hugh Martin share a sense of passiveness in their writing. They don’t seem to care about the war or the outcome. Even though they fought in two different wars, it is interesting that they share the same attitude. It goes to show what effect war can have on troops, even though they are being fought in different decades.

Stick Soldiers

Two poems that I really enjoyed were The Summer of Crawling and Spring in Julala. The summer of crawling reminds me of a time I was in basic training also crawling. Me and the rest of my platoon were crawling across a gravel pit that was about 50 meters across with rocks like razor blades. The Drill Sergeant much like in Martins’s poem was screaming and popping smoke grenades and yelling that if we could not crawl across this pit in the States we were sure to die down range. I also remember while I was crawling across the Earth seeing a clover and I studied it much like Martin studied his dandelion and was promptly kicked in the head for stopping to look at the one piece of green I found in this pit of gray rocks which were covered in the blood of my and fellow soldiers knees and elbows. 

The other poem Spring in Julala reminded me of a young Afghani boy who used to try and sell us everything and anything. He once stole a pen out of my buddies pocket and tried to sell it back to him, which turned out to be a poor choice on his part cause he caught a quick jab to the stomach for his efforts. Also because the area I was in there was also a “new bomb” except for for us it was not each week it was each day sometimes 2-3 a day. 

And as for Martin’s writing style I much prefer Brian Turners poetry to his so far (since we’ve only read half the book). Turner has more of a grit to his poetry, it is darker more real to me. Though Martin's poetry was just as relatable for me.

"Stick Soldiers" and "Responding to an Explosion in Qarah Tappah"

Hugh Martin’s and Tim O Brien’s style of writing is very similar to each other. They both portray the brutal events of war in a very ordinary way. It feels like that is their usual life and what they see everyday and thus the killings, the bloodsheds, and the explosions became so ineffective to them. I read the poems, “Responding to an Explosion inn Qarah Tappah,” and “Stick Soldiers.”

In “Responding to an Explosion in Qarah Tappa,” It is amazing to me that how a father can be the ultimate reason for his own son’s death. The innocence of the eleven-year-old boy of not knowing while he was touching the IEDs that his father built in a ark corner of the family courtyard, and how the little boy touched it in a way and a whole round exploded.  There was only sorrow that Martin describes he saw while the girls were softly sobbing and as if they were trying that for the first time. He also states how the father doesn’t even say a word and does the thing that was necessary for him to do. I also loved the imagery that he portrays in this poem, especially the oral imagery where he states, “ When the father comes home, they blindfold him, zip-tie his hands behind his back, take him away. We drive through the empty hills, the ground so hard, so stale, it crunches our tires as if made of sun-dried bones. I like how he uses a metaphorical perspective to describe his route through the hills and the death of that little boy was so normal to each and every one of them.

In “Stick Soldiers,” Martin portrays the children showing gratitude towards the American troops. The poem doesn’t end this poem in a positive manner,  as the children from Jalula draws pictures and instead of portraying the theme of good luck, the act of violence is inserted into those vivid images. It is very overwhelming to see and feel this kind of sentimental mood while reading this poem and seeing how children gets affected so much and nothing is really done about it. This poem actually portrays a very true meaning of war instead of stating it as an anti-war poem like O’brien does with his stories.