We Slept With Our Boots On (3-star)

Steve Carlson has war experience of 3 years. He joined the United States Army in October 2000. He was then reported to D Company 1^st battalion 504^th Parachute Infantry Regiment. 82^nd Airborne Division in Ft. Bragg North Carolina. He was discharged from the Army in 2003.

As a soldier, Steve has experienced the harsh realities and the brutal killings, hence he is trying to imply that you will forever be emotionally and or physically scarred by the experience of war, whether as a bystander or a fighter. “Everyone loses their innocence when they carry guns” is a prime example on how you change because of war. “When they carry guns” is actually referring to killing people, hence the killer will forever be in guilt.

The title itself could suggest Steve’s war time experience. Sleeping with one’s boots on could show that they were in a state of great anxiety and could not sleep in peace. They could also mean that the soldiers were prepared for any situation, in this case it could be an ambush. Hence the title could tell us how bad the situation was.

The point of view of the poem is from the first person’s point of view. This is used so as to show their emotions, actions and personal feelings. Other than “I”, “we” is also used, both are used to show how the majority feel during war, in this case it refers to the terror faced. Thus using a first person’s point of view may show what war is like and we should avoid it.

A literary device used is repetition. Examples could be, "I kept pulling the trigger and reloading and pulling some more ... Dirty and tired and hungry and scared". The use of "and" shows an endless list of how tiring and horrific war is. “I kept pulling the trigger and reloading and pulling some more.” Shows that one has to keep killing people without mercy to stay alive, and endure the bad things of war.

Steve Carlsen also uses a rhyme scheme of “ABAB”. This could be to enhance the mood of the poem, such as “blood” and “mud”. The words that rhyme are mostly on the negative side, where blood could mean injuries or death while mud could mean dirtiness. Hence the use of the rhyme scheme could be to enhance the poem.

Metaphors are also used. The example is “The majestic mountains so steep, so high that they kiss the skies.” This is a metaphor that the mountains are hard and high, impossible for them to climb. The part where the mountains “kiss the skies” shows how tall it is, and could mean a gruesome and tough climb for the soldiers.

Setting was also used. The Hindu Kush is a mountain range stretching between north-western Pakistan and eastern and central Afghanistan with a highest elevation of 7708m and stretching for 500 miles. This could mean the cold war, where the United States were at war with Pakistan and Afghanistan. This could also show that the difficulty of the war, since they were so high above ground level and in a treacherous mountain, showing the danger.

Steve Carlsen used many literary devices to bring out the warlike scene, such as repetition and imagery. He has also gone through war itself, and possibly this poem could be his life experience as it is a very realistic showing of war.

I feel that one should not take part in war. War is a devastating thing, nobody wins, only losses are gained. Steve Carlsen had showed this in his poem, where nobody would win and most would lose their lives. Hence I feel that we should not engage in war as it will only cause more suffering than good.