Always be thankful (Formal Blog)

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!

The main object to draw your attention to in this poem is the "Agent Orange", as mentioned in the last line of the poem. "Agent Orange" is most definitely not what it suggests to be. Rather, it is the code name for a herbicide and defoliant used by the US Army in its herbicidal warfare program. Part of the "Rainbow Herbicides" group of chemicals, it was the most widely used herbicide, and has caused numerous health problems to those who have been used to it. The title of this poem, "Rainbow Death", refers to the deaths caused by the "Rainbow Herbicides".

Here, the writer of this poem, Hubert Wilson, shares about why he wrote the poem:

I am a Vietnam War veteran (as are my four brothers) who served in the USAF Security Service. I, along with a dozen or so intelligence school grads, prepped for about 14 months at Kelly AFB in San Antonio, Texas, before anticipating being sent to Vietnam or elsewhere in southeat Asia in 1970. About half ended up in Da Nang (an Agent Orange hotspot) in the 6924th Security Squadron. The rest of us were assigned to Shemya Island, Alaska, with the 6984th Security Squadron, and what eventually was a MORE contaminated environment than Da Nang!

My health problems started approximately 15 years ago with unexplained headaches and limb pains. Four years ago my central nervous system radically deteriorated with Parkinsonian type tremors, severe headaches, progressive limb pains, etc. No physician has ever diagnosed the specific illness. NO VA physician has ever rendered ANY medical assistance! My number one educated guess is the heavily contaminated drinking water at Shemya during my year there as an intelligence analyst. Organo-phosphate toxins may not run their toxic course until 20 to 30 years after initial exposure.

Since my brain still functions moderately well (and I have mobility issues), I have turned to writing just like my late Father and the late singer (and writer) Johnny Cash.

Task 2:

1.) Point of view

The poem is written in the point of view of an officer who had fought in the US-Vietnam war under the USAF(United States Air Force) section. He was exposed to the deadly herbicide, Agent Orange, and that has affected his central nervous system. We can sense his anger and discontentment with the US Authorities for using the herbicide in the war, especially because it has affected his central nervous system and hence his mobility. His voice in the poem is dramatised, causing the whole poem to sound like a single harsh criticism of USA's strategies used in war. He also does not speak up for himself, but for the whole community of people who were affected by the herbicide warfare program.

2.) Situation & Setting

Although the poem is a modern piece of literature, focusing on the ongoing problems caused by the herbicide warfare program, it also directs partly to the future implications of it, evident from how the writer states that Americans "will mourn" and future generations "WILL pay" as a consequence of the decision made by the authorities to use the herbicide warfare program. The significance in the poem is how it warns readers about the imminent after-effects of using the "Rainbow Herbicides" and causing the exposure to not only the Vietnamese, but also the Americans. There is no climax or variation of development in the poem, but a consistent strong and critical tone. Through the way it has been written, it is very clear that this is an anti-war poem.

3.) Language/Diction

The title itself is an oxymoron, because rainbows signify the end of a storm and the emergence of the Sun. In this case however, it is linked with death, a stark contrast with what it has been stereotyped as. The poem starts out already criticizing America's efforts in herbicide warfare. A question is then posed, "Now thinking twice?", sounding like an angry, but at the same time, sad sneer. The poem starts to list out the consequences in the second stanza, "illness, birth defects and prematurely dead", "America led astray", "Generations untold WILL pay", before ending and mentioning the cause of all this for the first and last time: "Execrable effects of agent orange spray!"

4.) Personal Response

Although I have never experienced war, nor heard of the "Rainbow Herbicides" before, the poet has succeeded in making me feel angry at the authorities for engaging in herbicide warfare. While doing research on this poem, I cam across pictures of people handicapped or disfigured as a result of exposure to "Agent Orange" . I was, and still am disgusted at how the Americans used herbicides to weaken their enemy, but not actually consider, or perhaps, overlook the consequences of doing so.