Children in the Darkness by Henry M Bechtold

There are children in the darkness Who have not seen the light There are children in the darkness Who someone will teach to fight Chalk and blackboards will not be To this door there is no key From this life they can not flee And these children are not free Could we simply light a candle Could we give them half a chance Could we teach them how to read Could we teach them how to dance Or will a war consume them Their body and their soul Will their life and blood be poured Down some endless thirsty hole Back into the darkness From which there is no flight Back into the darkness Into which there shines no light

by Henry M Bechtold

The author was in Vietnam in 1967 - 68 and again in 1969. The author was sitting in his hotel room in Saigon just before Christmas 2009 and the author was trying to write a poem about the girls who work in the park and how badly men treat them. The author was angry but unable to write anything that did not sound trite or weak. The author looked at the TV and the news was on. The author did not know what the news reader was saying but in the background was a photo of a small boy with a helmet and an automatic rifle. This poem flowed out. The words just came to me and the author typed as fast as the author could to get it all down.

This poem expresses sympathy towards the children who had never even seen the 'light' of their life before becoming child soldiers. They are not offered their freedom and their basic rights such as education and enjoyment. The war would soon make them suffer.

Point of View

The author was a frequent visitor in Vietnam. It is known in Vietnam to have child soldiers. Hence, he started to sympathize them. He is upset about the fact that children are not able to do things that normal children do, and that they were not given any chance for freedom.

Situation and Setting

There is no particular setting, but it is assumed as Vietnam as the author had inspiration and wrote the poem in Vietnam.

There are many child in the world who are become soldiers before they even receive any education. They also suffered as it is hard for a child to stand the vigorous training and living conditions of being a soldier. He potrays war as a very cruel and "dark" place where their freedom is also restricted as many things are not allowed as a solder. There is no time to enjoy their childhood.

Language/Diction

The poet uses different types of words to express this poem. Firstly, he uses repetition to emphasize the situation in the poem. In the 2nd stanza, he talked about" Chalk and blackboards' which meant education. He highlighted the fact that there is "no key" to the door of freedom. He repeated "Could we" in the third stanza to emphasizes what a normal children would be doing. The poet also uses personification in the fourth stanza. He compared war to a human. This is shown by saying that war "consumes" children, potraying war as evil and cruel. The word "light" used in the poem also refers to hope. They are kept in the "darkness", which refers to the cruelness of war. They are not given any chance, or hope, to live a normal live.

Personal Response

I feel pitiful for the children who were sent to war at such a young age.

I strongly feel that children at such a young age should not be exposed to such cruelty in war. They could not enjoy the fun of their childhood and the rights they deserved. The poem also makes me understand the importance of freedom and we should not take it for granted.

Rainbow death by Hubert Wilson

Rainbow death

The link to the poem can be found here.

This small poem speaks of a modern day ingredient of warfare that has caused appalling death and suffering – not only to its intended victims, the Vietnamese people, but also the service personnel that used or even just came into contact with “Agent Orange”. According to Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 4.8 million Vietnamese people were exposed to Agent Orange, resulting in 400,000 deaths and disabilities, and 500,000 children born with birth defects. From 1962 to 1971, Agent Orange was by far the most widely used of the so-called "Rainbow Herbicides" employed in the herbicidal warfare program. During the production of Agent Orange (as well as Agents Purple, Pink, and Green) dioxins were produced as a contaminant, which have caused numerous health problems for the millions of people who have been exposed. Agents Blue and White were part of the same program but did not contain dioxins.

This poem deters us from starting a war again by speaking of the cruelty of war

Point of View

The speaker is a veteran who had fought in the Vietnam War.. He was a victim of the toxic agents and poor conditions during wartime. This is a first person's account of his disapproval of the Vietnam War. Situation and Setting This war poem is talking about the Vietnam War and the use of herbicidal warfare.

The poet feels angry about America's use of herbicidal warfare and the agony it has caused. Between 1961 and 1967, the U.S. Air Force sprayed 20 million U.S. gallons of concentrated herbicides over 6 million acres of crops and trees, affecting an estimated 13% of South Vietnam's land. In 1965, 42% of all herbicide was sprayed over food crops. The poet is appalled by the fact that even the main livelihood of the innocent civilians was not spared. Language and Diction "Rainbow Death" is an extremely good title as the 'rainbow' refers to the vivid and attractive colors of the chemical agents.

Tension is created by the punctuation marks used. He used exclamation marks and question marks to emphasize his frustration about the innocent suffering from war. He also used hyphen so there would be a pause so people could think and it also make the sentence that come after it more impactful. He also emphasized the consequences of war by using certain words such as "WILL". The sentences are also short for a fast pace poem for it to be more impactful. Personal Response I was extremely angered by the use of chemical warfare in war. The civilians are in no fault of the starting of war, but the use of chemical warfare mostly hurt the civilians. I sympathize with the civilians. Apart from the solders, the innocent civilians also suffer greatly. People argued that" war is war". However, i felt that America as a civilized should not engage in such a cruel and inhuman action.