I've been working on this for History extra credit. It's from three different viewpoints: A Japanese pilot, a boy on a bicycle, and a radar operator.
Pearl Harbor: A Poem in Three Parts
The Run
Glory, honor, country.
Taught to me since childhood.
Grasp the thoughts, hold onto that phrase.
Glory, honor, country.
This is my destiny.
Show the world our power and strength.
Glory, honor, country.
Shove the words in their
White faces, watch them cry.
Glory, honor, country.
Will they hear it?
Will they know it?
Glory, honor, country.
Don’t ask why, fly on.
Fly on, on, on, until that single moment.
Glory, honor, country.
The ship is hulking, black
And still in the water. Can’t turn back.
Glory, honor, country.
Grip the seat, set my jaw.
No going back, remember the words.
Glory, honor, country.
Recite the words.
Recite them one last time.
Glory, honor, country.
Flying
Someday these wheels will be wings,
I told my mother.
No more silly bikes,
With two round tires and
A bell that squeaks.
Someday I’ll fly so high,
I’ll touch the very clouds.
I’ll look over the sea
and watch the tiny ships toss
and turn below.
Someday I’ll look down and
Wave to those below me,
Like that man up there!
The plane with the sun on its wing,
Flying alone, so free.
Someday I’ll forget what I saw.
The man who waved, a fireball
Of flame and smoke.
The bright wing sun gleaming
A strange, frightening smile.
Someday I’ll forget all
The screams, the shouting, the death.
All from my spot on the hill,
Glued to my bike seat,
Shocked and afraid.
Someday these wheels will be wings.
Not wings of freedom, but
Wings of fear.
No more silly bikes,
Machines to kill.
Blip
My job is great. No problems,
No worries, no boss breathing down my neck.
Sit and lean back in the chair, feet up.
No worries.
My screen is blank most days. Some
planes should be flying in,
but they’re a bit behind schedule.
I have nothing to do for awhile.
My screen is not blank. I
guess the planes aren’t as behind
as they thought they would be.
Little blips on my screen, no problem.
I was wrong. Those blips
weren’t ours. I was wrong. People
are dead, good men and even women.
People I knew. I was wrong.
The flames are horrible, the smoke
staining the sky black. All
the blue is blocked, the clouds choking,
Even the ships so choked that they fall.
I was wrong. No worries? Not on
your life.
All my fault.
All my fault.
5 comments:
Kamikaze didn't come until after Pearl Harbor. They didn't come until the Japanese knew it was too late.
Huh? I just read a book on it though, and Tiana was telling me that they were there. Aren't kamikaze pilots the ones that crashed into all of the ships and bombed them?
Well okay, there were bomber planes and kamikaze. the bomber planes were the ones at Pearl Harbor, and didn't actually run into the battleships... sorry if I was vague or misleading.
I really liked how the last one turned out. :) Great job, Georgie!
I did some research, and some of them were kamikaze, some weren't. Those planes that ran out of fuel were told to crash into the ships if possible. Others crashed in the ocean or were shot down.
Depressing stuff, this history.
Talked to my history teacher: Too early for kamikaze, and no jets, just planes. He liked my poem though, and gave me sixty points for all of the poems I submitted.
Thanks Q and TC!
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