Engagement- by Adam Sol

Engagement

The young man knows he's going to die today, but he's wrong.

The other young man figures the army is the best way to improve his life,
but he's wrong.
They both think their weapons will protect them, but they're wrong.
They both believe their prayers will help.

Their commanders have intentions and intelligence, but they're wrong.
We've heard the story before. It's wrong.
The news will document it, but it will be wrong.
The war on terror, the war on Islam, the clash of civilizations.

The explosion will exceed the necessity of the occasion.
The exchange of fire will be unbalanced.
The response will be disproportionate.
The reporter is factually incorrect, theoretically misinformed, morally
reprehensible.

The clear typeface and perfect binding are misleading.
The reader is uncomfortably and inappropriately implicated.
The tranquil mind is insufficient to the task.
The young men, necks dirty and damp, advance.

Adam Sol

This poem is really interesting. It has a very obvious meaning but yet such a unique way of saying it. His poems is a social commentary on the Iraq war. In his first stanza he ends each line by saying, "but he's wrong." He discusses two young boys' hopes and how they are wrong. Sol's last line, "They both think their prayers will help." Perhaps since this line doesn't end with the typical "but he's wrong" the author thinks they are right. But most likely not. I think the author sincerely thinks that God has no place in war, but he leaves it up for the readers to pause and decide for themselves. The second stanza is formatted very similarly, except he moves up the food chain. He discusses the higher forces of war- the commanders, the media, and the home front- mentioning the errors in that. His last line takes the media and image of war out of the picture and states the truth, that war is just war. Sol's next two stanzas go on to list the flaws of war, both the coverage of war and the act of war. What is most powerful is his last line, "The young men, necks dirty and damp, advance." After looking at the complexity of war, all it really boils down to is the young men fighting for it. I don't think Sol is necessarily anti-war, but he is against unnecessary war. Yes, there are times we need to fight, but Sol believes their are times to stand aside as well.