Kevin Bowen

Kevin Bowen was drafted into the army and served in Vietnam 1968-69. He is the Director of the William Joiner Center for the Study of War and Its Social Consequences at the University of Massachusetts—Boston. He has returned to Vietnam several times and his first book, Playing Basketball with the Viet Cong, was named “Pick of the Year” by The Progressive magazine.

 

 

 

 

First Casualty

They carried him slowly
down the hill.
One hand hung,
grey and freckled.
No one spoke but
stared straight up.
His body, heavy,
rolled back and forth
on the litter.
At LZ Sharon cooks spooned
the last hot food.
One by one the squad
walked back up hill.
"Don't mean nothing,"
someone said.
But all that winter
and into spring
I swear he followed us,
his soul, a surplice
trailing the jungle floor.

Temple At Quan Loi, 1969

Outside the gate
the old woman
walks up the hill
from the temple.
Her pace
deliberate as a procession.
From the corner of an eye
she stares.
She must wish our deaths.
Beneath the white silk band
breasts ache for a husband.
She passes in mourning,
counting each step.
Her prayers rain down like rockets.

 

 

Questions for Reflection: “First Casualty” and “Temple at Quan Loi, 1969”

  1. If you’ve never seen a dead body how might you describe the feeling when you did? How do you think this image would return to you at other times?
  2. How does the poet go about his daily routine after seeing his dead comrade? Why do you think one of the other soldier’s voices, “don’t mean nothing?”
  3. How does the image of the warrior follow him? Describe the phrase, “a surplice trailing the jungle floor.” What may be the importance of the image to the warrior?
  4. In the poem “Temple at Quan Loi, 1969,” what might the warrior and the woman have in common?  How does the woman’s presence almost act as a weapon to the soldiers who see her?
  5. How do Bowen’s words make you feel as if you were witnessing the scene? What emotion does the poem convey?