The Power of Figurative Language
After Nam
After Nam,
it took me a long time to realize
that every time it thundered,
somebody did not have to die.
- Pete "Doc" Fraser -
3/187
A found poem is made by combining fragments of printed material, mixed media, etc., and rearranging them to create new meaning. Words can be added, deleted, change to create meaning.
All of you will be creating a found poem.
Metaphor Poem
Ghosts of War
A flashlight
Illuminating a photograph
A watch endlessly reliving time
Part of a book
A worn Bible
and prayers that are not answered
A hunting hatchet
that carries it’s own scars
Memories of a rain dance
around a blazing fire
Echoes of giggles
And
Endless
Screams
Kelly Utley
Poem in Two Voices
He wanted to
Enshrine their love
She wanted to
Hold hands as they
walked along the beach
He wanted to
Hold love tight
She wanted to
Let love go
She wanted a hero
He wanted to
Survive
Kelly Utley
Name Poem
Tim
His name
Bears witness
The the things they carried
Recording a soldier’s heart
Excavating memories
Obituary dreams
suicide smiles
And other
Forgotten dreams
O’Brien
Kelly Utley
Poetry Tells a Story
Questions and Concepts
Found Poem
A found poem is made by combining fragments of printed material, mixed media, etc., and rearranging them to create new meaning. Words can be added, deleted, change to create meaning.
After the war
We came home
To kiss the earth
and celebrate the victory
of being alive
We learned to maneuver the world
on one leg
how to walk
down the street again
how to maneuver the wheelchair
We learned to hide our pain
behind empty smiles
as people we loved
and random strangers
told us to move on
that we didn't really fight in a war
We learned to
avoid fireworks
and movies with explosions
and people crying in pain
We learned that we
didn't die from Vietnam
but that we still could
die from Vietnam
Addictions
and Agent Orange
and Silent Enemies
in our heads
After the war
we learned we never
should have been in Vietnam
in the first place
as people threw rocks
and spat on us
and told us
they wished we had died
We learned
maybe we didn't survive
after all
Kelly Utley
Poetry Teaches Lessons
Poetry Teaches Lessons
Imperative Poem
Wargames
To be a soldier
You must crawl into darkness
You must experience
the fires of Hell
and battle the demons
in your head
To be a soldier
You must learn to sleep
through guns and mortars
Or learn
to never sleep at all
To be a soldier
You must block the screams
of wounded comrades
as they cry
for their mothers and fathers
And God
Making stupid promises
Simply hoping
Not
To
Die
To be a soldier
You must crawl into tunnels
And walk point
And toil through rivers and paddies
Elephant grass and deep jungle
Always vulnerable
Tasting fear
Never knowing
where the enemy is
To be a soldier
You must hold friends’ hands
as they die
Listening to their last gasping breaths
Telling them sweet lies
To be a soldier
You must forget
memories of yesterday
and dreams for tomorrow
As you try to survive
One
More
Day
Kelly Utley