questions for reflection

Anthony Pahl

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pahl served as a helicopter gunner in Vietnam. He entered the Royal Australian Air Force in 1967 at 17 and served for more than 20 years. Pahl started writing poetry in 1988. While his subjects are diverse, many of his poems deal with war. He has developed and maintains several web sites, including the International War Veterans’ Poetry Archives.

 
 
The Bow of Peace

Oh gracious Peace, I dream of thee
Exquisitely framed in Liberty.
Myriad candles in the serene quiet night
Cleanse blackened canyons of war and strife
And illuminate the pillars of Freedom’s quest
While flickering softly in thy gentle breath.
Oh sacred Peace, invade our minds;
And upon Honour’s thermals soar divine.
In Freedom’s warmth grow straight and tall
And compromises… refuse them all!
Teach them Peace, teach them to see
That thy worth is naught without Liberty.
Teach and permit humankind to know
That Freedom’s the arrow and Peace, the bow.

Questions for Reflection: “The Bow of Peace”

  1. In your mind’s eye, what does “The Bow of Peace” look like? 
  2. Pahl associates “peace” with “liberty.” How are they connected? Can you have one without the other? Explain your position. How might your opinion differ from the Pahl’s?
  3. What symbols is Pahl using in his poem? What images does he use to illustrate his desire?
  4. How can peace invade a person’s mind?


Anonymous

It seems that each war results in those warriors who are “missing in action” and those who are found and whose identity is not known. This can also be said for verses that are penned, shared, and seem to belong to all poets who are personally moved to record their feelings about war. The poem below is one such work. It has been widely circulated among Australian Vietnam veterans, but the writer remains unknown as does the title of the poem.

 

Wounded digger hurt in a booby-trap explos


Soldiers following an armored personnel carrier

 
 
 “Unknown”

Now when a man his life begins
His dreams of all the wondrous things
Of travel to the faraway
And ways and means to get more pay
He little knows the fates in store
When he walks through that awesome door
It says in letters sharp and clear
"National Service Call-up here"
For now that grueling trial begins
He oozes sweat, his body thins
And comes the day his training ends
He stands erect, a man 'mong men
The dreams he had of faraway
Of travel to the lands of play
Are suddenly brought close to hand
Your posting sir, to Vietnam
That wondrous place where life's aglow
Of pedicabs* and buffalo
The plaintive sweet refrain of horns
The paddy fields and trees of thorns
He comes naive to Nui Dat**
With all the hills he wished were flat
He trudges through the dust and grime
And curses rain that makes it shine
The drenching rain so black and sleet
That soaks the ground beneath his feet
The dream he had of faraway
Reverse now, the other way.

*   A pedicab is a three-wheeled transport vehicle.
** Nui Dat was the 1st Australian Task Force (1 ATF) operational base in Phuoc Tuy Province, Vietnam

Questions for Reflection: “Unknown”

  1. What are your dreams for the future? How do they differ from those expressed in the poem?
  2. How did the warrior in this poem find his way to Vietnam? How have his dreams changed?
  3. How is Vietnam portrayed in the poem?
  4. How have your dreams been altered? How might the dreams of any warrior be altered by war?


Colin F. Jones

 

 

 

Jones served with the Australian Field Artillery in the Province of Phuc Tuey during the Vietnam War. He also served in Malaysia. He is often referred to as the “Man with the Magic Pen.” Though his poetry is diverse, he is most widely known for his war poetry.

 

 
 
Blame

Fate is simply circumstance
not an ingredient of blame
Soldiers are but robots
who unfortunately have a brain,
Fate decides the action
and the weapon does the job
The soldier pulls the trigger
and another widow sobs
The maker of the weapon
and the maker of the round,
Both become the soldier
fighting for his ground
Those who designed the weapon
and the people they were for,
All become the soldiers
as they fight a bloody war.

Society is an unbroken circle of people
all pointing fingers at one another.

Blame is where the gap is.

 

Questions for Reflection: “Blame”

  1. How would you define blame? What is fate? How might both relate to the “human condition?” How do they relate to circumstance?
  2. How can it be said that “soldiers are but robots?”
  3. How is the term “soldier” defined in Jones’ poem?
  4. How do you think Jones is defining the term “gap” in this poem?
  5. If you were to place “blame” on a war, who would be responsible? How is your opinion different from Jones’?
 

Fear of Reprisal
(God and War)

Then you will not hear
Thus all the things you seek
You will seek with fear

For how can truth be known
If truth is never told
And wisdom never shown
For fear of being bold

Wars are fought for this
That love lives in our souls
And death provides the bliss
That burns in glowing coals

For freedom of the tongue
Was a gift to man by God
And he who thinks it wrong
Will ever weary plod

Through valleys of regret
Overshadowed by the hills
Where those he’s never met
Devour his honest skills


Questions for Reflection: “Fear of Reprisal”

  1. Without reading the content of the poem, how does the title of the poem give you a feeling about what the poet is trying to convey?
  2. What truth may be referred to in the poem? Why isn’t it told? 
  3. What is the wisdom that is being referred to? Why is it associated with “boldness?” How might boldness be associated with braveness in this context?
  4. Why are wars fought? How do your thoughts compare to those expressed in this poem?
  5. What is being said about death and war in this poem?
  6. Why is freedom so important? How is freedom associated with war in this poem?
  7. Who is being referred to in the last stanza of the poem? Explain this last stanza in your own words.

Phil Lamb

Austrailian soldier, average age of soldier was 20, and each saw combat for a period of one year

“Confusion,” appears in an anthology, Sorrow is Knowledge: Poetry from Vietnam War, compiled by Audrey Greenway and published in 1992.

 
Confusion

Hangin’ on to the old days of wearing jungle greens,
Hiding from life with the donga for a screen,
Reliving those days in our head,
Hard times, fear, bloodshed and dread.

Not easy to displace those chaotic days,
Plucked from civvy street and youthful ways,
Surfin’, footy, sheilas, J.J’s, summer fun,
Conscripted, inducted, grenade, rifle, gun.

No time now for civilian troubles.
Learn, conform, don’t argue, all at the double!
“What’s goin’ on here dickhead” instructor’s scream,
Don’t let your mates down jack-man you ain’there to dream
Or you’ll be back squadded, don’t let down the team.”

Get on with it, don’t think of slumber.
You don’t have a name, only a number.
To your new army mates you must be dependable.
To the brass hats up top, well, you’re expendable.

Then off to sunny Queensland, that where you train,
Up hill, across creeks, ticks, leeches, rain.
Observe, survive, overcome pain, “Be a man”!

“To fight for a grateful country.” Those were the words
That were used.
“And when you get back you’ll be heroes on the six o’clock news.”
But we weren’t, we were spat on, called “child killer”
And abused.
What kind of welcome home is that?
No wonder we’re bloody confused!

Questions for Reflection: “Confusion”

  1. Why might a soldier find comfort in “hanging on” to the old days? How is the poet relating those days in his head?
  2. What was this poet’s life before going to war? How might his life be similar to or different from young people today who leave their lives to enter into a war?
  3. How does the poem indicate that his life changed dramatically when he became a soldier? 
  4. What is a soldier’s responsibility as referred to in this poem?
  5. Why is this soldier poet confused? How might he reconcile this confusion? Do you think that young warriors of today’s wars have the same confusion? The same dismay?


Geoff Nash

Approximately 50,000 Australian troops severed in Vietnam

The poems below, “Ill at Ease” and “To Our Friends,” appear in an anthology, Sorrow is Knowledge: Poetry from Vietnam War, compiled by Audrey Greenway and published in 1992.

Ill at Ease 

Why, at home and among friends
Do we feel betrayed?
In the midst of the family,
Watching eyes search each
Of our transparent emotions
Knowing that nothing ever dies
In our dreams.
Why this sense of betrayal?
In the stillness of the night
While family and friends sleep
Half read books lie by our chair.
Why are we suddenly out of breath?
Saturated in white light glaring.
From our history?
The debris from days past
Ever washing into the rooms
Corridors of our minds.
Broken toys, family objects,
Old photographs.
Why the nervous noise of
Ever cautious friends,
Family
Utter sounds of betrayal?
To Our Friends

Please do not be afraid
Least of all of us.
When this fear brings to us blind rage
Wrap us in warm, tender arms,
Arms as strong as the warrior’s shield.
The soothing voice that drowns the battle’s cry.
Soft words that cool the tempest,
Understanding our fears
Not feeling them.
Give us back our strength,
Compassion reinforces flagging self-esteem,
Care rebuilds the man you once knew.


Questions for Reflection: “Ill at Ease” and “To Our Friends”

  1. How would you describe betrayal? How would you explain the poet’s feeling of betrayal as expressed in his poem?
  2. For whom is the poet speaking? How do memories of the past and memories of war mingle? How does each affect the other?
  3. Why is the poet “ill at ease?” How are these feelings real? How could they be contrived, and not real?
  4. What dialogue do you think is occurring between the poet and his family and friends? Explain your position.
  5. What would it take to ease the pain of the poet?
  6. In the poem, “To Our Friends,” why does the poet feel that he needs to ask his friends not to fear him and other warriors?
  7. What is the source of the rage referred to in the poem?
  8. What is the poet asking of his friends when fear overtakes him? Why is he asking for help?
  9. What is the importance of listening to those who have suffered trauma in their lives? How does this poem speak to all who has experienced trauma in their lives?