Task 1
Introduction

This poem was written by Steve Carlsen. Steve was born in Dowagiac Michigan. He joined the United States Army in 2000 and was discharged from the Army in 2003. During his time in the Army, he was deployed to Kosovo in 2001 as part of peace keeping operations. In 2002, he was deployed to Afghanistan where he participated in combat operations. He currently attends Southwestern Michigan College where his professor, Dr Michael Collins challenged him to write about his experiences. Below is one of his poems : We slept with our boots on.

They unloaded the dead and maimed right before our eyes
They washed out the blood, we loaded our ruck’s and then took to the skies
Over the mountains, villages, and valleys we flew
Where we would land we had not a clue
Bullets are flying, the LZ is hot
We’re leaving this bird whether we like it or not
30 seconds they yelled, Lock N Load and grab your shit
Get ready to go and make it quick
My heart is pumping adrenalin through all of my veins
I run as fast as I can through the lead rain
The noise is tremendous, terror I can’t define
The only reason I survived that day was divine
I kept pulling the trigger and reloading and pulling some more
You do what you have to do, with that I will say no more
We fought from the valleys to the mountain peaks
From house to cave, to car to creek
Dirty and tired and hungry and scared
We slept with our boots on so we were always prepared
Those majestic mountains so steep, so high they kiss the skies
The Hindu Kush has changed so many lives
Up the mountains with heavy loads we trod
Who knew hell was so close to God
Beauty and terror are a strong mixed drink
So we drank it like drunkards and tried not to think
Good men and bad men, Mothers lost son’s
Everyone loses their innocence when they carry guns
Washed in the blood, and baptized by fire
I will never forget those who were called higher
They say blood is thicker than water, well lead is thicker than blood
Brothers aren’t born they’re earned. In the poppy fields, the tears, and the mud
And when I get to heaven to Saint Peter I will tell
Another Paratrooper reporting for duty sir, I spent my time in hell

Task 2

POINT OF VIEW
The point of view in the poem is the writer's point of view. This can be seen where "I" and "we" are used, meaning the poem is in first person. The writer himself was involved in combat operations when he was deployed to Afghanistan and therefore the writer experienced the ongoings of the battlefield. The surroundings and actions described in the poem are most likely what the writer saw and did on the battlefield. "Hindu Kush" in the poem also supports the fact that the point of view in the poem is the writer's. This is because that is where the writer was deployed to during his time in the army.

There are many conflicts in the poem, mostly written through the war the write experienced. The writer thinks that war is like hell, as stated in his last line, "spent my time in hell", showing his time during the war was like hell. The writer also thinks that war is forceful, and fast-paced, making soldiers having the need to be ever ready. "Everyone loses their innocence when they carry guns" shows that the writer thinks of war as stripping soldiers of their innocence. There are also other religious elements used in the poem such as "baptized by fire", showing the writer is a religious person.

SITUATION AND SETTING
The poem is situated near Afghanistan during the time the writer was serving as a soldier. This can be seen through the poem in the line "The Hindu Kush has changed so many lives". This is because Hindu Kush is a mountain range stretching between north-western Pakistan and eastern and central Afghanistan. The war in the poem that is experienced by the writer also takes place over different places, as seen in the lines "over the mountains, villages, and valleys we flew", "we fought from the valleys to the mountain peaks", "those majestic mountains so steep, so high they kiss the skies" and "from house to cave, to car to creek".

The setting of the poem shows how hard war is and also how it is like hell. In the line "up the mountains with heavy loads we trod", we see that the soldiers have to trod up the mountain, which is very hard. The soldiers fighting high up on the mountain, together with "who knew hell was so close to God", shows that war is hell in the writer's opinion.

The situation during war is fast-paced, cruel and forceful. "They unloaded the dead and maimed right before our eyes" shows how cruel war is. Many soldiers are "dead and maimed" due to the war. The war is fast-paced and forceful as seen in the lines "bullets are flying, the LZ is hot", "we're leaving this bird whether we like it or not". The situation on the battlefield is messy as there are many yells and orders, like "get ready to go and make it quick". The soldiers on the battlefield feel adrenaline pumping through their veins, because the "noise is tremendous" and there is "terror". This all shows how terrifying and fast-paced the war is. The soldiers on the battlefield are like "war-machines". They "kept pulling the trigger and reloading and pulling some more". They do what they have to do, and say no more. All the repetitive acts of killing they do on the battlefield makes war cold and cruel.

LANGUAGE AND DICTION
The language is straightforward and easy to understand. It describes the experiences of the writer as a soldier on the battlefield. Only on some occasions when there are some terms which may not be familiar. The diction "LZ" is a military term, this makes the poem more related to the battlefield. The writer repeatedly used "and" in the lines "Lock N Load and grab your shit", "get ready to go and make it quick", "I kept pulling the trigger and reloading and pulling some more" and "dirty and tired and hungry and scared". The "and"s are used to emphasize that war is fast-paced. The many examples of places listed in the poem also shows how far the soldier has travelled. Personification is used in the line "so high they kiss the skies" and "my heart is pumping adrenaline through all of my veins". Metaphor is used as the writer compares war to hell.

PERSONAL RESPONSE
I think that the writer's opinion is true and that war is cruel and fast-paced. If you are slow in reaction and following orders, then chances are, you will be dead in the war. The war is a cruel test of survival, against your own kind. The numerous hardships that you will have to face in war is hard if you face it alone. That is why I agree with the writer's statement that "lead is thicker than blood". You will gain real "brothers" through the hardships you face together with their help. Together with them, it is possible to overcome the odds, even in hard scenarios like war. However, it is best to avoid all of these violence and hardships. I would rather have a more diplomatic resolution than resort to the violence and hardships as described in the poem.



REFERENCES
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_Kush
http://www.warpoetry.co.uk/2010warpoetry.html