Poem Title- We Slept With Our Boots On
By Steve Carlsen
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
Annex A
Steps in Analysis: Point, Evidence, Elaboration
1. Point: Point of View
The author of the poem used first-person point of view.
Evidence: He stated in the poem, “I” and “we”.
Elaboration: The author of the poem recounted the war in his perspective, his point of view, according to his personal experience. By doing this, he allows the readers to feel what it is like to be in a war, and how he felt when fighting the war could be expressed through words, phrases and literary devices for the readers to read, understand and feel.
2. Point: Situation and Setting
The setting was the Hindu Kush mountain range, and the situation was the war, which happened around the Hindu Kush mountain range.
Evidence: He stated his experiences about the war, and that the “Hindu Kush has changed so many lives”.
Elaboration: He was describing what he went through in the war, how he flew over mountains, villages and valleys, and that the war in Hindu Kush changed so many lives.
3. Point: Language and Diction
The writer uses a lot of literary devices in this particular poem, so as to enhance the meaning of each line to give the reader his interesting yet realistic experience about the war.
Evidence: There are literary devices all over the poem, such as rhyme in each line, “eyes” and “skies”, and metaphor with “beauty and terror” as a “strong mixed drink”. The author also includes a lot of descriptive phrases and emphasis.
Elaboration: The write uses some interesting way of expressing his experience on the war, such as twisting the saying, “blood is thicker than water” to “lead is thicker than blood”, lead most likely referring to his lead bullets, symbolizing the brothers and friendship he has earned through war after overcome much hardship (poppy fields, tears and mud) together with them.
Personal Response:
After reading the poem and understanding it, I finally get to feel and sort of experience what a soldier goes through in war, all through words that the author used. I now understand that war isn’t what I thought it was, with all those ‘cool’ shooting and killing, but a lot more than that. It also teaches you how to treasure brother ship after earning them through the hardship you earned together, and that war is no joke, it is fast-paced, brutal, cruel, and extremely dangerous. As an ex-veteran soldier once said, “In war, you win or lose, live or die, the difference, is just an eyelash.” And another man also once said, “War does not determine who is right-only who is left.”, implying how cruel war is and summarizing the consequences of war in one line.
Reference used: ‘Critical Analysis of Poetry’ by John Lye
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