Steve Carlsen - Probably not one of the famous war poets out there but definitely a successful one. Steve Carlsen was born and lives in Dowagiac Michigan. He joined the United States Army in October 2000 and went to Infantry Basic Training, and Airborne School in Ft. Benning Georgia. He then reported to D Company 1st battalion 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment. 82nd Airborne Division in Ft. Bragg North Carolina. He deployed to Kosovo in November 2001 as part of peace keeping operations. He Deployed to Afghanistan in of December 2002 where he participated in combat operations. He was honorably discharged from the Army in 2003. He currently attends Southwestern Michigan College wher his professor, Dr Michael Collins challenged him to write about his experiences.
Amongst the 3 poems that we could select , why did I choose the 1st and the hardest? Firstly, my interest in air warfare compelled me to understand more about the jobs of paratroopers.I find his experiences of being a paratrooper intriguing.Usually, paratroopers do not make it out alive in real warfare as they are sent behind enemy lines or right smack in the middle of the battle which guarantees them a low chance of surviving the battle. Being a survivor, Steve Carlsen must have had a good deal of luck and much experience. I feel that his depicted experiences found inside the poem are extremely interesting. For example, "We fought from the valleys to the mountain peaks/From house to cave, to car to creek". It seems that his contingent of paratroopers are constantly shifting postitions to engage the enemy with a constant motive of escaping attacks or setting ambushes.No other type of warfare required so much stealth and manoeuvering except,perhaps,a spy in enemy territory. This gives us a fresh perspective on a different form of warfare that is not usually found in other poems.
Secondly , the poem , compared to the other two, took on a personal account , my personal favourite type of perspective.
Now, on to the analysis.
1. Point of View. The poem takes on the point of view of a paratrooper dropped into battle. He uses certain millitary terms such as "Lock N Load" , "The LZ is hot" which meant that the Landing Zone was already occupied by the enemy of there was a battle taking place at that area.Simply put, it meant that they were to paradrop into dangerous territory.In the midst of battle, "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" Though he is unwilling to partake in the massacre of the enemy soldiers , he says that "You do what you have to do" , meaning that it was their duty to do so, even if it was against their will or conscience,showing the cruelty of war and the psychological turmoil that one soldier has to go through when engaged in battle. He also expresses directly that his contingent was "Dirty and tired and hungry and scared".Though it is not fully explained , it gives a rough overview of the mood and atmosphere of the soldiers at that point in time.Also , in his personal opinion, "Everyone loses their innocence when they carry guns".I think that he feels anybody that carries guns would inevitably commit murder and taint their innocence in the process. Yet again , he brings out the psychological warfare inside the soldiers mind when he goes to war. Though it is his duty to win the war and kill the enemy, the simple act of killing is already unforgivable. "Beauty and terror are a strong mixed drink/So we drank it like drunkards and tried not to think"
Added on with the physical exhaustion , these soldiers are completely immersed in the war , unable to think for themselves or unwilling to do so.They become mindless machines of murder , incapable of reasoning and with only a single thought in mind; Murder.
2.Situation and Setting. The poem begins with the loading of the paratroopers on to the airplane."Over the mountains, villages, and valleys we flew" and this is continued by the release of the paratroopers onto Terra Firma. Immediately, they are attacked and "I run as fast as I can through the lead rain". The soldiers escape and return fire while their battle is carried from "the valleys to the mountain peaks", reaching the Hindu Kush. In the high mountains, the battle ensues and inevitable the soldiers meet their demise.
Firstly, the paratroopers prepare and board the plane, ignorant about where they were to land. As they approach the landing zone, they notice "Bullets are flying", yet "We’re leaving this bird whether we like it or not". This shows the precarious situation that the paratroopers were in, with no other option but to jump off the plane. "30 seconds they yelled, Lock N Load and grab your shit". This line basically shows the frantic rush before their departure. It seems as though the paratroopers require a wake-up call before they are spurred into action, which could mean that they were horribly stressed and terrified before their jump. The act of "pumping adrenalin through all of my veins" shows that the persona was suffering from a high degree of anxiety and fear which spurred him to " run as fast as I can through the lead rain" in the hope of escaping death. The landing of the paratroopers is carefully ommited which could symbolise that it was such a quick process from air to land that the battle engulfed them immediately. The battle is carried "From house to cave, to car to creek" and they end up in the Hindu Kush. The Hindu Kush is a mountain range that streches from Palestine to Afghanistan which shows that this poem is written in context to the American-Afghan conflict a few years back. Finally, the poem ends with their deaths and transit to heaven.
3.Language and Diction. The writer uses much imagery to convey the realism of the poem better. -to be continued-
Credits go to:
http://www.warpoetry.co.uk/2010warpoetry.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_Kush
http://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/LZ
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Peter
http://danielsiew2010sec2.wikispaces.com/E-Learning+2+%2825-26+May+2010%29
http://www.google.com.sg/
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
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