This picture inspired me to write a poem from the perspective of the woman on the left hand side of the picture.How could this have happened?
What atrocious sights
The fact that man could do this
Without the slightest fright
Halls and rooms are filled with stories
Of sickness and of pain
It's a wonder no one died
From simply going insane
All around me soldiers bustle
With urgency and regret
I guess they weren't expecting
Something the world will never forget
But up ahead, on the left, what is that pile of stuff?
Oh no.
Oh God.
Are those human bodies?
I can't even look
How amazingly upsetting
I can only put my head in my hand
As a long day starts setting
All those poor people
Is this the cost of war?
Can people really be this brutal?
How can they be so sore?
So many questions
Not enough answers
But one question remains in my head that will never go away
How could this have happened?
1 comment:
I enjoyed the fact that you responded to this photograph in a new way. You did not simply rely on the same analysis style and techniques that we have used on the past few assignments. While poetry can feel somewhat limiting at first, I am sure that it allowed you to discuss this photograph in a unique way.
One line from your poem that I found particularly striking was "But up ahead, on the left, what is that pile of stuff?"
The fact that you refer to the pile of dead bodies as merely "stuff" is extremely fitting for the situation in the photograph. Human life has been reduced to "stuff" that is now meaningless and can be thrown in the streets. Human bodies as "stuff" is certainly a dehumanizing and apt description.
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