The first poem I chose was, “The Colonel,” by Carolyn Forché. I believe what caused me to react to this poem the most was the blunt, random, and short statement style writing of Forché. When I first read this poem I had absolutely no idea what the poem was about (and to be honest, I’m still not sure if I do), or as to what message it’s trying to convey to the reader. However, after reading the poem a couple more times, I began to notice different details that helped the poem become easier to understand. One of the main things that stood out was how Forché was able to create a complete setting and mood in just a few blunt, indirect lines. The scene she creates is a gritty, serious scene, where some important figures are around a table discussing a stern topic. In one line Forché writes, “There was / some talk of how difficult it had become to govern.” (Forché lines 16-17) Shortly after this statement was made, the “Colonel” brings out a bag full of human ears and dumps them out across the table. From what I understand, the ears symbolize how tough it really is to govern, and how he has had to do it through brutality and violence. After pouring the ears on the table, the Colonel then goes on to top it off with, “As for the rights of anyone, / tell your people they can go f--- themselves.” (27-28). This to me, was the final statement of the Colonel making it crystal clear that he did not care about the people at all, and will continue to govern in a brutal, murderous manor.
The second poem I chose was “Photograph from September 11” by Wislawa Szymborska. This poem made me feel a lot more emotion than the last poem I wrote about. It made me think back to the day when this “photograph” occurred, and all the emotions that were running through my head. I was only in fourth grade when it happened, but I can still remember it like it was yesterday. As sad as it is, Szymborska did an excellent job with this poem, and it’s one of the better poems I’ve read in a while.
Photo Source:
Carolyn Forché -
Wislawa Szymborska -
