To Whom It May Concern

To Whom It May Concern
I was run over by the truth one day.
Ever since the accident I've walked this way
So stick my legs in plaster
Tell me lies about Vietnam.

Heard the alarm clock screaming with pain,
Couldn't find myself so I went back to sleep again
So fill my ears with silver
Stick my legs in plaster
Tell me lies about Vietnam.

Every time I shut my eyes all I see is flames.
Made a marble phone book and I carved out all the names
So coat my eyes with butter
Fill my ears with silver
Stick my legs in plaster
Tell me lies about Vietnam.

I smell something burning, hope it's just my brains.
They're only dropping peppermints and daisy-chains
So stuff my nose with garlic
Coat my eyes with butter
Fill my ears with silver
Stick my legs in plaster
Tell me lies about Vietnam.

Where were you at the time of the crime?
Down by the Cenotaph drinking slime
So chain my tongue with whisky
Stuff my nose with garlic
Coat my eyes with butter
Fill my ears with silver
Stick my legs in plaster
Tell me lies about Vietnam.

You put your bombers in, you put your conscience out,
You take the human being and you twist it all about
So scrub my skin with women
Chain my tongue with whisky
Stuff my nose with garlic
Coat my eyes with butter
Fill my ears with silver
Stick my legs in plaster
Tell me lies about Vietnam.
-- Adrian Mitchell

Questions:


1. How does this poem make you feel? What emotions do you feel when you read it?
When i read this poem, i feel sad, the man who is describing what he is seeing makes the whole feeling of the poem feel more real and makes the reader feel sorry for him that he had to go through all of that.
2. What is the poem about?
This poem is about the man that has come back from the Vietnam war and the poem tells us about all the things he had to go through when he came back home. The way he explains what is happening with him, makes the reader feel sorry for him and to think of vivid images to what could of happened that was so horrific during Vietnam for this man to feel like he needed to do all of these things to get him to stop thinking about it and to try and get rid of those thoughts. Everyone of the senses have been used and this shows how much the war could of affected him as a person.
3. List some of the descriptive words the poet uses and explain why they are effective.

So scrub my skin
Chain my tongue
Stuff my nose

Coat my eyes

Fill my ears
Stick my legs

These are some of the descriptive words the poet uses to explain his poem, they are effective to use as they help explain what this man was going through when he came back from the war.

4. Why do you think the poet wrote this poem? What was he/she trying to achieve?
The poet wrote this poem so that he could explain about all the traumatic things that had happened to him in the war had affected his home life and him as a person. I also think he was trying to achieve to get the point across about if you go to war, don't expect to come back after and be perfectly normal, as you will see so many horrific things and after you see them you can't un-see them.
5. Write down your favourite line/lines from the poem. Explain why you picked them.
I was run over by the truth one day.
Ever since the accident I've walked this way
These are my favourite lines in this poem, they're my favourite lines because they make me think about what things happened over in the wars that people back in there countries didn't know about, that made this men that had come back home from war so stressed and traumatised enough that some have a very hard time trying to forget about it all, plus it never really all goes away, your scared for life.

6. Does this poem rhyme?
No this poem doesn't rhyme


8. Did you like this poem? Explain why.
I like this poem as it showed me how people from war come back and think about what happened and to see if they can really get rid of those thoughts, and this poem obviously has shown me after war, it gets really hard to forget about all the things that had happened.
9. Does the poem create an image in you head? If yes, describe what you see in your mind. You may draw a picture to show what you see if you prefer.
The poem does create an image in my head, it creates an image of a man sitting around thinking about the past, trying really hard to get those horrible thoughts and images out of his head. Thinking of painful things to do to himself so he could forget about everything that had happened. It also makes me think of how traumatic the war was for people.