Not to Keep” – War & Death
War is really a terrible thing. It ravages families and relationships, as well as causes death, mayhem and tragedy. It brings nothing to the societal table and Robert Frost’s poem “Not to Keep” is just another reinforcement of this.
In many World War II era films, there are scenes showing the Department of Defense representatives delivering “telegrams of death” to the wives and mothers of fallen soldiers. A League Of Their Own is the first that comes to mind for me, though there are many others. The women sat and worried month after month that their loved ones were never going to come back, while their husbands and sons toiled through the battlefields of Europe and the Pacific. The same thing is occurring now and has inevitably occurred over and over throughout history. War is a mainstay of human society; we cannot exist without conflict of some sort. The problem with this is that people are generally caring and loving people, especially to those close to them. War ends these loving relationships in an instant. A single bullet, bomb or rocket can ruin an entire family’s future.
Robert Frost captures this idea in his relatively short poem. The language of the poem is interesting, really. “The letter came/Saying….And she could have him.”, reads the piece. As we well know, the military owns you once you join up or are drafted. You are theirs for the duration of your service and even beyond. More interesting phrases include “They gave him back to her alive - / How else? They are not known to send the dead. – and not disfigured visibly.” This is more insight into military function. They know better than to send back a terribly disfigured or visibly injured person without proper preparation of the family and adequate rehabilitation of the soldier. The shock it would cause the family and even general population would be too costly for a “war effort”.
A woman receives a letter of notice that her loved one is returning from war. And shortly after receiving this notice, her soldier returns, though not in the best of shape. He has taken a bullet in the chest, leaving him mortally wounded. He attempts to reassure her that “medicine and rest” can heal him, but it is not to be. He is doomed to die from his wounds and to leave his loved one behind to suffer the pain of war’s aftermath.
This series of events is heart-wrenching just to read, let alone to live through. I personally have never had this situation in my family, but with the current situation in Iraq, I have many friends stationed in heavily war-torn areas of the occupied country. I may not feel the same amount of worry as this woman, but I generally know the feeling. I love these friends and they are thousands of miles away in terrain and situations that I can not even begin to fathom.
In many World War II era films, there are scenes showing the Department of Defense representatives delivering “telegrams of death” to the wives and mothers of fallen soldiers. A League Of Their Own is the first that comes to mind for me, though there are many others. The women sat and worried month after month that their loved ones were never going to come back, while their husbands and sons toiled through the battlefields of Europe and the Pacific. The same thing is occurring now and has inevitably occurred over and over throughout history. War is a mainstay of human society; we cannot exist without conflict of some sort. The problem with this is that people are generally caring and loving people, especially to those close to them. War ends these loving relationships in an instant. A single bullet, bomb or rocket can ruin an entire family’s future.
Robert Frost captures this idea in his relatively short poem. The language of the poem is interesting, really. “The letter came/Saying….And she could have him.”, reads the piece. As we well know, the military owns you once you join up or are drafted. You are theirs for the duration of your service and even beyond. More interesting phrases include “They gave him back to her alive - / How else? They are not known to send the dead. – and not disfigured visibly.” This is more insight into military function. They know better than to send back a terribly disfigured or visibly injured person without proper preparation of the family and adequate rehabilitation of the soldier. The shock it would cause the family and even general population would be too costly for a “war effort”.
A woman receives a letter of notice that her loved one is returning from war. And shortly after receiving this notice, her soldier returns, though not in the best of shape. He has taken a bullet in the chest, leaving him mortally wounded. He attempts to reassure her that “medicine and rest” can heal him, but it is not to be. He is doomed to die from his wounds and to leave his loved one behind to suffer the pain of war’s aftermath.
This series of events is heart-wrenching just to read, let alone to live through. I personally have never had this situation in my family, but with the current situation in Iraq, I have many friends stationed in heavily war-torn areas of the occupied country. I may not feel the same amount of worry as this woman, but I generally know the feeling. I love these friends and they are thousands of miles away in terrain and situations that I can not even begin to fathom.
posted by Brian at 12:36 a.m.
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