Home learning - Rainbow death

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!

Hubert Wilson
Task 1:

Comment from the poet

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.

Hubert Wilson

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.”

Sources:
http://www.warpoetry.co.uk/2010warpoetry.html#Rainbow

Task 2
Point of view

From what I can deduce, the poem is from the point of view of an anti-war Vietnamese civilian, recounting the destruction and suffering which herbicidal warfare had brought upon the innocent. The speaker rants on the horrendous outcome of the herbicides used by America, and how barbaric it was to use such weapons.

Situation and setting

The setting is probably after the war, where everything else but the civilians' welfare is settled. American soil is left unscathed whereas the local Vietnam population is left with a destroyed wasteland. Crops and natural habitats were destroyed and the people were left with nothing to start over. Poverty dominates, and people starve. The only thing that was remembered was the cruel war which changed and ended many lives. Those who lived through the war hated America for punishing the innocent.

Language and diction

To emphasize on the horrors of herbicidal warfare and even war in general, the poet cleverly used words such as 'rainbow' and its colors in a context that twists its positive meaning into something completely negative. For example, the title itself, 'Rainbow death', stands out because of the contrast between the word 'rainbow' and 'death'. 'Rainbow' usually represents the elements of joy and fun, along with the idea of peace and harmony. However when juxtaposed with 'death', the 'rainbow' which we were all familiar with immediately becomes a death beacon, a weapon of war. The poet introduces a nightmare fuel to the reader, forming an image of a 'colorful death'. And since a rainbow is usually a metaphor of diversity, it shows exactly how one will suffer and die from the myriad of diseases that will result from herbicides.

Similarly, 'potpourri' also signifies diversity and variety. And it is also used in a similar context like the title. Also, in the line it is located, 'Green, pink, purple and other colors death potpourri', three colors, green, pink and purple were highlighted. Green represents nature, which was destroyed by war; Pink represents love, which was lost because of war; Purple represents royalty and nobility, which was what drove men into war. And these colors, along with others, formed the 'death potpourri'.

Next, the way the poet breaks up the sentences and uses punctuations creates a very dramatic speech. The short sentences build tension while the long sentences are full of rants, following the short sentences. Lastly, by breaking the last sentence into three parts, there is a build-up of tension as the poem reaches its climax, ending with an exclamation mark.

Personal Response

Nothing can hide the fact that war is cruel, and this poem is yet another that reminds the reader of the horrors of war. War is punishing and unfair. But let us not just look back at the wars and condemn them, instead these wars should serve as a lesson to us, a reminder to those who had lived through the war, and a warning for those who has never witnessed one.

Nobody wants a war.