Rainbow Death
America did not foresee
Green, pink, purple and other colors death potpourri!
Expecting others to pay a high price.
Now thinking twice?
Toll on the innocent and unborn.
Omnipotent and disregarding who will mourn.
Reflective about all the illness, birth defects and prematurely dead.
All the deceit continues to spread.
Nefariously America led astray -
Generations untold WILL pay -
Execrable effects of agent orange spray!
by Hubert Wilson
Task 1
Background/Conflict
Although this poem is based on a war that happened in the past, "Rainbow Death" still talks about a modern day ingredient of warfare, Agent Orange. Agent Orange is the code name for one of the herbicides and defoliants used by the U.S. military as part of its herbicidal warfare program, Operation Ranch Hand, during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1971. This is an indication that Hubert was writing on the Vietnamese war. This poem may remind us that wars aren't over when the wars are over.
Sources:
Wikipedia
Task 2
Template
1. Point of view:
This is a first-person account by Hubert Wilson. He was a Vietnam War Veteran who has served in the USAF Security Service previously. His thoughts and disapproval of how America handled the war in Vietnam caused him to write this poem to express himself. The war also affected him as he was involved in the war. He is a respectable person as he is able to stand up on his own and give his opinions and what he is unsatisfied about. This can be seen in this poem.
2. Situation and setting:
The poem is talking about the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1971 and the situation is bad and sad in this poem. With the use of Agent Orange in the war, many people who were innocent were killed. This can be seen from " During the Vietnam War, between 1962 and 1971, the United States military sprayed 20,000,000 US gallons of chemical herbicides and defoliants in Vietnam, eastern Laos and parts of Cambodia, as part of Operation Ranch Hand. The program's goal was to defoliate forested and rural land, depriving guerrillas of cover; another goal was to induce forced draft urbanization, destroying the ability of peasants to support themselves in the countryside, and forcing them to flee to the U.S. dominated cities, thus depriving the guerrillas of their rural support base and food supply." These poem also shows the suffering of innocent people in Vietnam and how the Americans regretted their actions during the war.
3. Language:
This poem follows a
a-a-b-b-c-c rhyming pattern.
There is also a sense of sarcasm in this poem.
4. Personal Response:
After reading this poem, I can feel the anguish and sadness in Hubert as he experienced and went through the war seeing innocent people suffering. I can also sense the anger in him towards the Americans. A war is definitely devastating and also cruel and also very unfair for innocent people. If a war can be prevented, it should be prevented or it should not even happen.
