Poetry Project

Jim Cook
5/9/08
9th

In Flanders Fields
In Flanders fields the poppies blow 1
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below. 5

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe: 10

To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep,
though poppies grow 15
In Flanders fields.

by John McCrae, May 1915

Billy Pilgrim and Roland Weary have been on one endless journey

for survival after the Battle of the Bulge. The isolation felt by Billy

reminded him of the poem, “In Flanders Field”. He felt as if he had

come to wander in Luxembourg so he can die…

The poem begins with a description of Flanders Field; a beautiful

field of poppies where fighting took place in World War I. Many would
think that Flanders Field would be a graceful place, much like the

forests of Luxembourg. However, Flanders Field was a place where

soldiers would go to die. Billy Pilgrim was wandering behind enemy

lines. It was almost inevitable that he would be shot. He felt that he

had “lived, felt dawn, and saw sunset glow,” and it was now time for

him to go. (McCrae 7) He never even attempted to dodge enemy fire

or danger and the first time he came across enemy fire “the lethal bee

buzzed past his ear.” and “Billy stood there politely, giving the

marksman another chance.” and was only saved by Roland Weary.

(Vonnegut 33)

Billy felt the same sorrow and calmness expressed in “In

Flanders Field.” The poem rhymes in most lines, with a rhyme scheme

with the first two lines of each verse rhyming and the third line of each

verse rhyming as well. Also, the last two verses end with the phrase

and the title of the poem, “In Flanders Field”, which he felt helped

instill the sorrow of the poem. The poem used calm, soothing words,

and the second verse’s description of the sunset, and second to last

line, “Loved and were loved, now we lie” helped add to the poem’s

calmness.

Billy imagined a vast and peaceful field of poppies when he

thought of “In Flanders Field”. The phrase, “The larks, still bravely
singing, fly, scarce heard amid the guns below.” conveys an image of a

sunny and colorful setting, in which fighting has very only a small

effect on the field. (McCrae 4-5) Also, the poem used descriptive

language such as “saw sunset glow”, and vivid images come to mind

from phrases such as, “In Flanders fields the poppies blow, between

the crosses, row on row.” (McCrae 7, 1-2)

The poet personifies larks in the beginning by saying that they

are “still bravely singing.” (McCrae 4) Also, there is repetition in the

poem with the phrase, “In Flanders Field”, much like how there is

repetition with the phrase that Billy Pilgrim often thinks of, which is

“So it goes.” Also, there are metaphorical aspects of this poem,

especially when comparing life to a sunset with the phrase, “We lived,

felt dawn, saw sunset glow. “ (McCrae 7) The poem sends the

message that the grace and peace of Flanders Field goes on after the

war and the dead in Flanders Field are eventually covered by that

peace since the poppies continues to grow between them. Although, it

may seem like a positive aspect of Flanders Field, it is also a negative

one since it causes those who died in Flanders Field to be forgotten.

Original - Hiroshima
 Charred black earth 1
Death in the air
Deafening cries, souls not there
Time of rebirth
Sixty years gone 5
Old memories never forgot
Death must come first
Peace will flow then
In war no one really wins
Some kill for God 10
Others for greed
On the poor the rich will feed
Politicians
That seek revenge
Our nations they will unhinge 15
In name of peace
Weapons they hide
All nations do it, worldwide
Hiroshima
Inspired this poem 20
I realized without knowing
What the bomb did
Was start a chain
Of generations of pain
I hope one day 25
That war will end
Then on that day, souls will mend! 27

Don Haney

The bombing of Dresden was a horrific experience for Billy

Pilgrim. The bombings by the Allied Forces caused the oxygen to be

sucked out of the air, and Billy and other prisoners had to find refuge

in a meat locker. However, 130,000 people in Dresden were not so

lucky and either died from the explosions of the bombs or suffocated

to death. The bombings, unfortunately, caused the whole city of

Dresden to be destroyed.
 The poem describes the destruction of Hiroshima, after it faced a

nuclear attack. The poem begins with the lines, “Charred black earth,

death in the air, Deafening cries, souls not there.” (Haney 1-3) There

was a similar aftermath in Dresden, which became desolate and bleak.

The nuclear bombing of Hiroshima then opened doors, according to the

poem, to “generations of pain”. (Haney 24) However, the bombing of

Hiroshima, much like the bombing of Dresden, or for that matter, war

altogether can be controlled. Whether it is viewed that war is

inevitable, everyone has free will. The lack of free will is what allows

the politicians and the rich to get away with war crimes, as said in this

poem. Many people also do not know that they have free will, even

though it is part of human nature. “If I hadn’t spent so much time

studying Earthlings,” said the Tralfamadorian, “I wouldn’t have any

idea what was meant by ‘free will.” Having no belief in free will and

residing to the concept of a fourth dimension that is not within control

is a belief of Tralfamadorians, not humans.

This poem not only describes the bombing of Hiroshima, but it

also describes its effects by saying “What the bomb did was start a

chain of generations of pain.” (Haney 22-24) It also had a rhyme

scheme that was similar to a sonnet, but it had a line that did not

rhyme, “ In war no one really wins”, and not every other line always

rhymed. (Haney 9)
 The poem is very descriptive in describing the bombing of

Hiroshima by beginning with, “Charred black earth, death in the air.”

(Haney 1-2) When he thinks about this poem, it is almost as if Billy is

looking over Dresden after it was bombed.

The phrase, “death in the air” is a metaphor that is used towards

the beginning in the poem, and personification is used in the phrase, “

Deafining cries, souls not there.” (Haney 2-3) Also, metaphors are

used in the phrases, “What the bomb did Was start a chain” and “Then

on that day, souls will mend!” (Haney 24, 27) This poem not only is

reminiscent of Billy’s experience during the bombing of Dresden, but

also it also points out an age of disrest that has been created by not

only the bombs, but by nuclear weapons.

Time

Time, time, time 1

Make time, give time, take time out
Win time, cost time, the time of your life
Spend time, sell time, the good times and the bad
Kill time, zero time, all the time in the world 5

Time watch, time travel, time to begin

Time table, time square, can I fit you in
Time frame, time to go, time that you grew up
But tell me...

How do you feel? 10

Shaun William Hayes

 The concept of a fourth dimension, in which the past, present,

and the future all coexisted was a new concept to Billy Pilgrim. Who

would have known it was possible to travel back and forth in time?

In this poem, the rush experienced by time is discussed. As Billy

travels back and forth throughout time, life seems to come at him fast.

At one moment, he is thrown into the pool at the YMCA and , “When

he opened his eyes, he was on the bottom of the pool, and there was

beautiful music everywhere.” (Vonnegut 44) Or he is in 1965 and is a

successful optometrist who is president of a Lions club. Time is

important and it often times can dictate how people live, but, as said

in the poem and after being hurried by time, “How do you feel?” (Haye

10) A fourth dimension conveniently allows everyone to experience

moments and capture the feelings that come from those moments.

Time just causes everyone to move on and quickly forget our feelings.

This poem shows the rush of time, and that rush is felt with the

use of the word “time” many times. There is not really a rhyme

scheme to this poem and it is written in free verse. However, the use

of the word “time” also seems to give the poem a rhythm.

Time is illustrated almost literally in this poem because of lines

such as, “Make time, give time, take time out.” (Haye 2) Billy feels as

if the fourth dimension is within his reach when he reads this poem.
 There are many oxymorons in this poem. Some oxymorons

include, “Make time”, “sell time”, “zero time” and “time square.” (Haye

2,4,5,7) Although there are many oxymorons in this poem, Billy knows

that time does not make much sense, especially when there is a fourth

dimension that has no effect on the system of time.

View From Mars

Imagine being a Martian and peering down on earth

And puzzling and puzzling for all your Martian brain was worth
Why were those funny earthians standing in the street
And sucking on those little logs, you might have to admit defeat

With seven fingers and two triple jointed thumbs, you'd scratch your
furry, green head
Because even from up on Mars, you'd know those logs would make
you dead
The smell alone that you detected from your ten nostrils perched
upon your ear
Was enough to instill in you a horrifying fear

That these earthians had been visited from some aliens out in space
Some nasty, vicious aliens who did not like the human race
And these aliens had then programmed some of our precious human
kind
By writing a cruel virus prepared specially for the delicate human
mind

If you were such a Martian, you'd be shaking in your twenty pairs of

shoes
Because you knew it could be possible, that you'd hear it on the
Martian news
That this virus had jumped planets, gone across to Mars from Earth
And of you verdant, martial Martians, there was now a severe dearth

Alessandra Liverani
 Billy Pilgrim is fascinated by the Tralfamadores. They had not

only discovered him, but their beliefs and way of life was different.

However, the Tralfamadores were the ones who found humans

every bit as interesting as Billy found them. They were the ones who

kidnapped Billy and put him in a zoo. However, the Tralfamadorians are

not as evil as the aliens in this poem, but they do observe that they

destroy the universe later on. The aliens in this poem and the

Tralfamadorians both look unusual. The aliens in this poem, the aliens

had “seven fingers and two triple jointed thumbs” and a “furry green

head.” (Liverani 5-6) The Tralfamadorians were shaped like upside

down toilet plungers and they “had no voice boxes. They

communicated telepathically.” (Vonnegut 76) Also, they had an eye in

their hand.

This poem gradually built up to its point of explaining the evil

aliens from Mars. Some lines, but not all lines, rhymed with each

other.

Many descriptive words, especially for the aliens, helped to

visualize the poem. Some examples include, “furry green head” and

“you’d be shaking in your twenty pairs of shoes.” (Liverani 6, 18-19)

Also, the poem described the virus unleashed on humans with lines

like, “By writing a cruel virus prepared specially for the delicate human

mind.” (Liverani 16-17)

 Parts of this poem have metaphors, which include “And sucking

on those little logs” and “That this virus had jumped planets.” (Liverani

4, 22) Although the creatures in this poem and the Tralfamadores are

different, this poem and its descriptive words and the way it is written

reminds Billy of the Tralfamadores.

so it goes

Since we are what we pretend 1

to be, when we’re sincere
we must take care lest we offend
the people at out rear
by being what we really are, 5
upfront, without pretense,
in case they think we are bizarre
when flouting commonsense,
because we ought to try to please
the people satisfied 10
with lives that are like holes in cheese
or trains when they collide.
“So it goes, ” said Vonnegut.
If you don’t like it here
you should pretend to do so, but 15
appear to be sincere.
Gershon Hepner

Billy Pilgrim was never forced to write letters to the newspaper,

go on the radio, or even tell the world of his experiences with time and

Tralfamadorians. Billy just chose to be himself and set out to tell the

world about what had happened to him, no matter how he felt.

This poem describes how people need to quit pretending and act

how they would choose. Billy Pilgrim chose to do the same thing. He

chose to tell everyone about his travels through time and the
Tralfamadorians, and he did not care what some people might think of

him. Billy’s own daughter, Barbara even told him that, “It’s all just

crazy. None of it’s true!” (Vonnegut 29) The last lines of the poem, “If

you don’t like it here, you should pretend to do so, but appear to be

sincere,” lets everyone know that they do not have to change to

appease someone, they just need to come across as respectful and

sincere. (Hepner 14-16)

In the poem, the ideas of sincerity and being oneself are

expressed through basing much of the poem on being “sincere.” The

phrase that is thought of by Billy throughout the book ”So it goes”, was

incorporated in the poem as well. Although this is not true for the

entire poem, about every other line in the poem rhymed.

This poem gave an image of trying not to offend others in the

line, “we must take care, lest we offend the people at our

rear.”(Hepner 3-4) However, the poet also manages to bring about an

image of sincerity, and in the last lines of the poem, “If you don’t like it

here, you should pretend to do so, but appear to be sincere,” Billy

visualizes someone politely listening and agreeing with someone else

in a conversation, even though they are not interested in what he is

saying.

A simile in the poem include, “with lives that are like holes in

cheese” and.“ (Hepner 11) There is also the metaphorical line, “or
trains when they collide.” (Hepner 12) Billy realizes that some people

may disagree with his statements on the radio or in his letters to the

newspaper, but he hopes that they will at the very least be sincere and

respectful in doing so.