Poem of choice:
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!
Point of View:
This poem could have been written in the point of view of an observer of the America’s use of herbicides in the Vietnam War. This is quite clear as the protagonist in the poem knows a substantial amount of information about ‘agent orange’ which is the herbicide mainly used in the Vietnam War. This can be inferred from the persona’s knowledge that ‘agent orange’ had ‘execrable effects’. The fact that the persona says that ‘America did not foresee’ and that ‘agent orange’ caused ‘toll on the innocent and unborn’ which resulted in ‘illness, birth defects and premature’ death. This emphasizes that the Vietnam War was close to the persona and he/she probably had first-hand experience of it.
Situation and Setting:
The situation and setting in the poem is after ‘agent orange’ is used in the Vietnam War. This is evident as the persona speaks like the incident has already passed. This is also illuminated by the fact that the persona says things like ‘America did not foresee’ and ‘disregarding those who mourn’. These pieces of evidence all point to the fact that the observer is simply reflecting on the already-passed incident. It is also empahsized that the incident has already passed when the persona talks about ‘all the illness, birth defects and prematurely dead’. After ‘agent orange’ has been used, the effects are extremely harsh and detrimental to the wellbeing of the Vietnamese people affected by it. Thus, it can be concluded that the persona is observing the after-effects of the use of ‘agent orange’ in the Vietnamese War.
Language/Diction:
The persona speaks about war in a very grim tone and tries to bring across the harsh consequences of war. This is very clear when the persona uses the word ‘potpourri’. Potpourri has multiple meanings, the first being ‘a collection of mixed dried flower petals’, the other being ‘a collection of miscellaneous and unrelated items’. The first meaning of the word could be an oxymoron when put together with the word ‘death’ as potpourri is something pleasant while death is not so ‘nice’. Thus, it could have been emphasizing that death is unpleasant, especially in war. The second meaning of the word can be interpreted to mean that there were many deaths in the war; deaths of soldiers, deaths of innocents, basically deaths of a lot of people. The title itself is also quite an oxymoron. The words ‘rainbow death’ are a very queer combination as rainbows are normally beautiful and are signs of hope while death is dismal and dark. The title is also a pun as the ‘rainbow’ in it refers to the different coloured herbicides used in the Vietnam War. All of this emphasizes that death is not pleasant.
Personal Response:
The main idea behind this poem is to convey the message that wars aren’t over when the battles are over. When the Vietnam War ended, the battles may have ceased, but the people were still greatly affected by the effects of the war. There were shortages of food, shelter and a lack of proper hygiene. Many children were left orphans by the destruction the war had caused and the many lives it had taken away. Thousands of people were also affected by the herbicide used in the war (like in this poem which talks about the horrible effects of ‘agent orange’). The poet effectively conveys the message about how horrifying war is and that we should not support it for the good of all. Disputes can always be settled through peaceful means; there is no need to go to war just to solve something. In conclusion, this poem is a powerful reminder to society that war is not the glorious event as portrayed by the government; rather it is a gruesome slug-out between countries and people and many lives are lost in the process.
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