Home Learning Term 2 Part 1

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 Steve Carlsen Task 1 1) Based on your understanding of the selected poem, perform extensive web research and write a report on your blog detailing the conflict represented in the poem(s) of your choice. Bear in mind that this piece of background information will allow your blog audience to further understand the poem as well as your analysis of the poem in Task 2. We Slept With our Boots On is a poem by Steve Carlsen, depicting the horrendous situation at war and his personal experiences when on the battlefield. Steve Carlsen is an American soldier who fought in the war against Afghanistan from 2000 to 2003, when he was honourably discharged. This poem depicts one of his battles during the war, in which he was parachuted straight in the middle of an ongoing battle, caught in the crossfire. He describes his experience of how he had to fight, tired and hungry in the different terrains in the battlefields. The fact that he was fighting in the Afghanistan war is evident, as he mentions the "Hindu Kush", which is somewhere in between Pakistan and Afghanistan.