We Slept With Our Boots On

They unloaded the dead and maimed right before our eyes
They washed out the blood, we loaded our ruck’s and then took to the skies
Over the mountains, villages, and valleys we flew
Where we would land we had not a clue
Bullets are flying, the LZ is hot
We’re leaving this bird whether we like it or not
30 seconds they yelled, Lock N Load and grab your shit
Get ready to go and make it quick
My heart is pumping adrenalin through all of my veins
I run as fast as I can through the lead rain
The noise is tremendous, terror I can’t define
The only reason I survived that day was divine
I kept pulling the trigger and reloading and pulling some more
You do what you have to do, with that I will say no more
We fought from the valleys to the mountain peaks
From house to cave, to car to creek
Dirty and tired and hungry and scared
We slept with our boots on so we were always prepared
Those majestic mountains so steep, so high they kiss the skies
The Hindu Kush has changed so many lives
Up the mountains with heavy loads we trod
Who knew hell was so close to God
Beauty and terror are a strong mixed drink
So we drank it like drunkards and tried not to think
Good men and bad men, Mothers lost son’s
Everyone loses their innocence when they carry guns
Washed in the blood, and baptized by fire
I will never forget those who were called higher
They say blood is thicker than water, well lead is thicker than blood
Brothers aren’t born they’re earned. In the poppy fields, the tears, and the mud
And when I get to heaven to Saint Peter I will tell
Another Paratrooper reporting for duty sir, I spent my time in hell

Basic background information about poet:

· Joined the Army in 2000

· Went for basic infantry training

· Joined Delta company of the 1^st battalion 504^th parachute regiment

· Deployed to Kosovo in 2001 as part of peace keeping operations

· Deployed to Afghanistan in 2002

· Honorably discharged in 2003

In this poem, the writer bases his poem on his experiences on his tour of duty in Afghanistan. Afghanistan is an especially mountainous area, therefore in this poem, the frequent appearance of mountains.

Tone

The poet has placed a mood of chaos and desperation in this poem. The tone is especially apparent in parts such as “I run as fast as I can through the lead rain”. This describes the battlefield as filled with bullets. After this line, there is another line saying “I kept pulling the trigger and reloading and pulling some more”. The author probably did not aim when he fired; the battlefield was so chaotic and messy, that the author did not bother aiming. This could also be because they had dropped off from a helicopter and there was a lot of dust surrounding them.

“Beauty and terror are a strong mixed drink
So we drank it like drunkards and tried not to think”

Beauty refers to the beauty of the mountains, while terror refers to the terrorists. By saying that these two were a strong mixed drink, it could imply that they simply fought an killed without thinking. This could also be called the loss of humanity.

The loss of humanity can also be seen from the part where the writer said that “Blood is thicker than water, well lead is thicker than blood”. This line might have two interpretations. The first being the literal meaning that lead is thicker than blood. But referring to the first half of the line; when one says that blood is thicker than water, it means that blood was more closely related and important. But when the writer said that lead was thicker, he could have meant that the his gun and bullets were more important to him than his family members and friends

The last example of the loss of humanity is:

“They unloaded the dead and maimed right before our eyes”

They did not bother bring the corpses and the useless back to base. Once someone had died they were to be forgotten and left behind and were never remembered again. This shows that as long as you are of no use, you are thrown away and forgotten.

Form

The poem, only had one stanza throughout the entire poem. I think that this is because of

The writer has extensively used military slang in this poem, such as:

· Lock N load

· We’re leaving this bird

· LZ is hot

All these terms show the fast pace at which these battle were fought. They were intense and short battles, where the chance of you dying was high. This can be seen from the line “The reason why I survived was divine”. Another example that the death rate was high was in the last line, “Another paratrooper”. This shows that there were so many paratroopers who had died in the course of duty that “Another” was used.

The writer has also used end rhymes in his poems, rhymes such as:

· “Hot” And “Not”

· “Flew” And “Clue”

· “Peaks” And “Creeks”

· “Tell” And “Hell”

Analysis on other lines in the poem

“Everyone loses their innocence when they carry guns
Washed in the blood, and baptized by fire”

This shows that the moments anyone carries guns, they have lost their innocence. And by saying that washed by blood and baptized by fire is the direct opposite of someone innocent.

“Brothers were not borned, they were earned”

This is one of the positive sides of this poem. Brothers are not connected by fate, but by trust and comradeship. Comrades are comrades, but comrades who are willing to sacrifice for each other are brothers.

The most epic killing ever, close combat, killing spree and the most coincidental ricochets ever.



Q1. The writer feels a lot of emotions in the first three stanzas. For example, the writer feels tired, frustrated and determined. The writer has made use of metaphors to describe the difficulty of teaching these students. Words such as “tugged the leash”, leashes were used on animals. So the writer is describing his students as animals meaning that they might have been hard to control, like stray animals. The writer also used the pun quarry of knowledge. Quarry means that there is a abundant supply of this material and in this case the material is knowledge. The ‘hunters’ are the students. The students already have a large amount of knowledge which they can gain yet they are unwilling to go a take themselves. Therefore the teacher is extremely frustrated that even though that he has presented his students with a large amount of knowledge they refuse to even take this knowledge themselves. What makes the writer even more frustrated is that when the writer wants to push them towards their knowledge. When their teachers try to push them toward this quarry they refuse. The students themselves are unwilling to go and learn themselves and even if they did not have to put in much effort to learn. The writer is also very tired because there he will have to work very hard to push the students along the road of knowledge. Although this is a very difficult task, the writer still perseveres and helps them with their learning; however this is a exhausting and time-consuming process. Therefore the writer is very tired. He is also very angry. The writer is so angry that he gives much exaggerated of how much energy he has left. He describes it as the last fuel of life. This literally means that he was dying but what it actually means is just that he did not want to teach them anymore. Therefore the poem is although very exaggerated it brings across how the writer feels.


Q2. The writer has used literary devices such as choice of words, alliteration, pun and metaphor. The writer has carefully chosen his choice of words. He has used words that were exaggerated to show how he really felt and to bring the writer’s emotions to a higher level. The writer uses metaphors and puns of much bigger meaning than the real word. This is because the writer wants to show how difficult it is to be a school teacher teaching students who do not want to learn. He has used metaphors like tugged and strain. The important point in this poem is that the writer has chosen to use the correct words to appropriately display his emotions even though most of his emotions are exaggerated he successfully tell the reader how he feels efficiently. He use words such as abyss. This shows that he is very sure that once this object is lost t can never be retrieved. The definition of an abyss is a very deep valley. And the object here refers to the knowledge which the teacher passes on to his students and this is a very important part as if whatever the teacher teaches it is bound to go down the drain. It is wasting both the students’ time and the teacher’s effort. The writer has carefully used words such as ‘abyss’ to show how he really feels without very obviously displaying it literally. The writer also used alliteration in certain places to emphasize on the next point so that it would make an impression to readers as they read through. Puns are also used to somewhat look down on these students.

FRIED CARROT CAKE

My favorite food is FRIED CARROT CAKE. Its one of the most common food found in Singapore. Go to any hawker center and you will be able to find at least 2 stalls selling this dish. Although some people do not like Fried Carrot Cake, here are some reasons why you should like it:

1. It is really very delicious. Especially when you go to those old stalls which have been selling this dish for decades and using recipes that have been passed down generation to generation.
2. The dish itself is a miracle. Who in the right mind would think about making a dish made kueh and egg added together and deep fried? That is another reason why you should like it, it’s unique to Singapore and you cannot find it anywhere else.
3. The taste of the dish in your mouth is really unforgettable experience. The stickiness of the kueh in your mouth as you chew on it and the egg stuck onto the kueh makes it even more delicious
4. The sound of the hawker frying it as you wait. The aroma of all the ingredients mixed together wafts though the air is mouthwateringly fragrant and makes you crave for it even more
5. Last but not least it is really cheap and you can find it anywhere on the island. It is also very simple for you to cook it. The dish goes well with chili too.
6. Please learn to appreciate it.



I think it is important for us to keep up to dates because of the recent outbreak of H1N1 there have been many changes.

If we are not kept up to date we might miss put on some things that are very important? Keeping up to date is also important because there have been many cases of H1N1. If messages such as suspension of class for a few days. We must always know what is happening around us otherwise we might me in trouble.



Beacause if the recent outbreak of H1N1 has caused a lot of unrest. Here are some ways to prevent the virus from spreading further.



1. We must always keep a good standard of hygiene. Whenever we dirty our hands or any part of our body, we must wash and clean them properly.



2. We must always be socially responsible. If we are suspected to have the H1N1 virus, we must stay at home. If there is a need to go out. We should avoid crowds and should wear a mask.

3.When we have fluu-like symptoms, we should consult the nearest doctor as soon as possible.
And if we re sick , we should not go to work or school. We should stay at home and rest.

4. By MOE regulation, students are not allowed to come to school even after they have recovered, they are only allowed to come back after the Medical Certificate has expired.



There are the pros and cons for each way to study. Let me list out some pros of both. For going to school we can interact and communicate in a more efficient manner. And we also get very quick answers from our teachers. The teachers are also able to see if we are studying or not. The pros for e-learning is that we do not have to waste time going to school and back, but other than that there is not much to talk about.

Elaborating on studying in school. When we ask the teachers questions, we will get answer very quickly. While in e-learning, we might have to wait for the teacher for 1 whole day just to get a reply from the teacher. I also feel that the teacher explaining the subject to us is much easier for us to understand. Like complicated topics such as the tectonic plate drift theory, the 5 types of ways in which a mountain can be formed.

Now talking on studying from home. We can save the time that is required to travel to school. This is one if the good things about e-learning. Other than that, some students are happy that they will not see their teachers.

Concluding this blog, each of the methods have their pros and cons, but going to school is definitely much better than staying at home to study.

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