Another poem...

[mariaceleste]

Free- Write
To the speaker, war has a negative connotation. The bleak roads mirror the lifelessness transmitted by the poem?s tone. That the speaker refers to the mailman?s son shows that there is, if not affinity, some proximity between the speaker and the deceased, and so the burden of that person?s death becomes less impersonal to the reader. And then the speaker makes mention of the TV. And the juxtaposition of the canned laughter coming from the TV and the empty, sad house creates this loud irony. And then there?s the metaphor of the cans tied to the hearse. And whenever cans are tied to a vehicle it is usually the car in which the newlyweds are in, not the vehicle for conveying a coffin to a funeral. Those two images are irreconcilable and make for even more irony. And I find it interesting that the speaker is traveling, because traveling usually implies experiencing some sort of transformation. And I imagine that, if he did experience a war, now his home is tainted with that irremovable misery that war imposed upon him. I also find it interesting that the TV and radio seem to have this ?badness? associated to them. The radio -because it accurately predicted the ?hell and damnation? and the TV because of the canned laughter in contrast to the empty house. And maybe this disgust towards these objects comes from his rejection towards our contemporary culture- one whose technology has served to distance people or maybe it comes from his rejection towards the media, that has on numerous occasions succeeded in skewing the truth and by doing so, has succeeded in sucking millions into unnecessary wars. I don?t know. I feel sorry for the ?forlorn mutt? and think there is a little of all of us in it, waiting. I liked the poem.

[sofiastaburuaga]

The poem is obviously opposing the war in Iraq. well, it talks about people coming back in coffins and not alive. It talks about how laughter has been lost and how people are glued to their radios and their tv's to hear about what is happening to their friends and family members. It also talks about how it is the mailman's son and how it can be anyone's son but, is it only the common people that go to fight? I've never heard of a senator who sent their kid to fight the war in Iraq. The poem is trying to create a sense of awareness in people and show that everyone feels the same way. That everyone is desperate to know about their loved ones.

[dainkelly]

i specially like the last verse where the author wrote "like beer cans tied to a herse", and i think that it is an excelent way of showing how the government tries to justify the war on irak. I dont like the poem however, because i dont think the author is exceeding in talent, i dont see how he managed to become a poet lauret, and cant see the beuty in a poem that i feel most of the class could have written, maybe its because we all have a bit of poet lauretts in us, but somehow i doubt it.

[dainkelly]

i also think that alberto da costa put the poem on his reply so that it appears his answer is longer than it really is

[hcaceres]

I believe this poem definitely talks about the negative side of war, but mainly tends to criticize society and the government for specific actions. I can see a connection, as Marie Claire wrote, to the war on Iraq, but I feel that is not specifically the point. To my understanding, the poem is denouncing particular social behaviors relating to war. For example, ?Thinking of the mailman?s son, the Army sent back in a sealed coffin? shows how the author clearly disapproves that most of the soldiers that fight war are from a low class. Also, the ?mailman? typically represents a service figure, but whose profession is not esteemed. This could represent how soldiers fight for their country relentlessly, but once in their country, their merits seemed quickly forgotten. To conclude, I must say that this poem seems to be more of a critic to society and its approach on war, than to war itself. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[mrodriguez]

Firstly this poem, as already mentioned is about the current situation with the United States in Iraq. The "minister of our coming doom" is George W. Bush. The narrator is obviously infuriated, seeing the way he says things. "how right / Your Hell and damnation sound to me"... The tone is of protest and at the same time it is morose. The first stanza categorizes the protest and infuriation tone and the second is more sad. The second stanza is sullen with the way the empty house is shown, with the TV on the the dog waiting for it's master, who will never come.

[RodrigoCC]

This poem has direct relation to American Politics. This is a protest against the war and it shows the loneliness that lies with soldiers leaving home and their families. He talks about lies and how the world is one road away from hell. There are better things to be done than to fight wars.