Hello, these are my answers for the second lesson of e learning.
Okay, firstly, let me show you the poem I am going to do on. It is 3 starts, the hardest among the available 3! I chose this poem because I just wanted to try something hard. The poem is by Steve Carlsen. Steve Carlsen was a native of California. He grew up listening to blues, folk, soul, R&B, and rock. At age 10, he started playing guitar and writing songs. He performed in bands throughout high school playing guitar, singing, and occasionally picking up a bass. During his two-year residence on the island of Maui, he began playing acoustic slide guitar and mandolin, which would eventually become a major influence on his song writing. After steadily gigging in Hawaii, he moved to Los Angeles to hone his craft. If you would like to know more about him, you can go to this link About Steve Carlsen

Okay! Now for the poem!

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 ****
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

THE END

1) Point of View
Evidence:

“The only reason I survived that day was divine
I kept pulling the trigger and reloading and pulling some more”

Elaboration:

The evidence above proved that this poem is written from a soldier’s point of view. Later in the poem, it will mention that the soldier survived the war. When a poem is written in a soldier’s point of view, it will make the poem more interesting as the reader will know what is happening during the war. Furthermore, it can also allow the reader to have a clear picture of what is happening in the war.


2) Situation and Setting

Evidence:

“run as fast as I can through the lead rain
The noise is tremendous, terror I can’t define”

Elaboration:

From the evidence given, I can tell that the battle field was chaotic. The phrase “the noise is tremendous” I can tell that there was a lot of noise and in a battlefield, noise are most likely to come from bombs, grenades, guns and soldiers shouting. The phrases “run as fast as I can through the lead rain” and “terror I can’t define” tells us that the soldiers were running through the battle field, trying not to get shot by the shower of bullets coming from the enemy’s side. I can also tell that the soldiers were very terrified. All of them wanted to live. They were afraid to die. Every time they run across the battle field, we will be very scared of getting shot by a bullet and die.

3) Language/ Diction

Evidence:

“The only reason I survived that day was divine”

Elaboration:

The writer uses the word divine because he wants to tell the reader that it is very lucky for a soldier to survive in a war. From this, we can tell that only the lucky ones can survive, if you are unlucky, you will be died.


Evidence:

“My heart is pumping adrenalin through all of my veins”

Elaboration:

The word “adrenalin” tells us that the soldiers fighting in the war are all very nervous and terrified. Their hearts were pumping very fast. The word “adrenalin” exaggerates the soldier’s nervousness and how terrified they are.

4) Personal Response

After reading this poem, I know more about how the soldiers felt during the war and I never want to fight in a war ever. The reason why I liked this poem is because the poet wrote on the different people related in the war and their feelings about the war. The poem describes how war is like and the numbers of lives lost during the war. The poet also wrote about the feelings of the soldiers. Lastly, the poet wrote about a very important thing about war. It is the feelings of the loved ones of the soldiers who died during the war.

In my opinion, I think that war is just like gambling. In gambling, you win if you are lucky but if you are unlucky, then you will lose. In war, it is the same thing. If you are lucky you survive but if you are unlucky, you die. If you compare war with the video games you play, they are total opposite of each other. When you play your video games, if you are more skilled then your opponent, you will win but if you are lousier than your opponent, then you will lose. In war, it does not matter whether or not you are more skilled than your enemy. No matter how accurate you are in shooting, in the battle field, you will just get killed by the millions of bullets flying towards you in the speed of light.