2012.5.7
Bandana

(A poem inspired by:

“Shrimp”: https://freeassociationhaikufactory.edublogs.org/2012/04/05/shrimp/#comment ;

“The Things They Carried vs Forrest Gump”: http://gilmers.edublogs.org/2012/03/27/the-things-they-carried-vs-forrest-gump/

and

“30 Uses for a Bandana”: http://survivalcache.com/30-uses-for-a-bandana/)

 

They carried the sign of the free.
They signaled with it.
They warmed with it.
They tourniqueted it.

They held pots with it.
They collected edibles with it.
They blocked the sun with it.

They slung it as first aid.
They slung it as David deathed Goliath.
They swung it at staff’s end.

They moved cordage with it.
They made washcloths of it.
They made sweatbands of it.

It was a hobo pack.
It was hotspot padding.
It cleaned firearms.
It oiled them.
It wiped them.

They marked trails with it.
They made dishrags of it.

It was a napkin.
It was an eye patch and blindfold.

It was a prewater filter on coffee colored mornings.
It cleaned spex, goggles, glasses, field glasses, binoculars, face shields, wind shields, hoods, grills, and fenders.

They made earmuffs of it.
They bound stones with it and tossed lines through the arbor.
They made dust masks of it to filter breath or conceal identity.
They wet it and wore it in hot weather.

They sneezed into it.
They received a silent “Bless You” or “Gesundheit” or “Salud” or other expressions for giving purpose to a square of cloth as it shielded against superstition.

That . . . that’s about it . . .

They could have worn it nude . . .
. . . in the nude . . . like . . .
Loincloths . . .
. . . but they carried comfort in nudity and a needless
Bandana.

 

Reflections . . .

The perceptions posted on other participants’ blogs served as great inspiration for reply posting. With comparisons of The Things They Carried to the likes of Forrest Gump and The Hobbit, the influence of one work is put in conversation with other works. Written works “talk” to each other through the reader’s perception and interpretation of the texts. The reader makes connections through reminders of previous experiences. This was demonstrated in the poem/post “Shrimp.”

A comment was made of the connection of The Things They Carried with Forrest Gump. This served as a reminder of Bubba’s monologue of the numerous ways shrimp may be prepared. The dialog was edited to represent “they” from The Things They Carried, but, instead of shrimping as a prosperous business after returning from war, “they” “shrimped” (interpreted to mean “warring”) as an obligation to carry out their duty. By this interpretation, Forrest, Bubba, and Lt. Dan had been “shrimping” long before the end of the war.

The juxtaposition of “preparing shrimp” as food with the massacring of Vietnamese opposition means to portray the imbalance between those involved. The United States as an industrialized nation “cooked” Vietnam as a lesser industrialized nation, or “shrimp” eaten by a “whale,” or “shark,” or other such larger predatory animal symbolism.

The last stanza of “Shrimp” drew a few comments that asked for elaboration and served as wonderful criticism of the stanza’s possible meanings, and a chance for the author to defend the stanza’s inclusion. Without the last stanza, the poem would otherwise be Bubba’s monologue rewritten. The last stanza punctuates Bubba’s conclusion, “That . . . that’s about it.” The “they” narrator from the “Shrimp” poem interrupts the conclusion with another possible use for “shrimp” “they” could attempt if only they understood the potential detriment of “shrimping” on the region.

As well, the “boxing” of anything entails limitations to “it,” a shrimp supply, chocolates in a “box,” one’s open-mindedness, one’s imagination, one’s enemies, etc. By “boxing” life and “shrimping” others, the poem means to portray the tyranny of predominate cultures’ negatively assumed authority over “subordinate” cultures.

In summary, the “Shrimp” poem was a great success for its driving the imagination and commentary of the author and others. The texts seem to “talk” to each other through the readers’ interpretations, the analyses, and subsequent commentary produced by others. The communication and interaction between authors illustrates the ways in which people make connections through texts and experiences.