Rainbow Death

America did not foresee
Green, pink, purple and other colors death potpourri!
Expecting others to pay a high price.
Now thinking twice?
Toll on the innocent and unborn.

Omnipotent and disregarding who will mourn.
Reflective about all the illness, birth defects and prematurely dead.
All the deceit continues to spread.
Nefariously America led astray -
Generations untold WILL pay -
Execrable effects of agent orange spray!
Hubert Wilson

Background information:


"Rumors persist of still another more toxic color coded herbicide at the end of this deadly rainbow!

I am a Vietnam War veteran (as are my four brothers) who served in the USAF Security Service. I, along with a dozen or so intelligence school grads, prepped for about 14 months at Kelly AFB in San Antonio, Texas, before anticipating being sent to Vietnam or elsewhere in southeat Asia in 1970. About half ended up in Da Nang (an Agent Orange hotspot) in the 6924th Security Squadron. The rest of us were assigned to Shemya Island, Alaska, with the 6984th Security Squadron, and what eventually was a MORE contaminated environment than Da Nang!
My health problems started approximately 15 years ago with unexplained headaches and limb pains. Four years ago my central nervous system radically deteriorated with Parkinsonian type tremors, severe headaches, progressive limb pains, etc. No physician has ever diagnosed the specific illness. NO VA physician has ever rendered ANY medical assistance! My number one educated guess is the heavily contaminated drinking water at Shemya during my year there as an intelligence analyst. Organo-phosphate toxins may not run their toxic course until 20 to 30 years after initial exposure.

Since my brain still functions moderately well (and I have mobility issues), I have turned to writing just like my late Father and the late singer (and writer) Johnny Cash."

Hubert Wilson.

1. Point of View(Evidence): The poet is writing in the point of view about recounting on the horrors of this herbicidal war.
Point of View(Elaboration): He recounts the damage brought by herbicidal warfare. The poet says how dangerous this herbicidal weapon is, how it deforms people.

2.Situation and setting(Evidence):The situation is when a herbicide war breaks out and lots of people are deformed and killed. Not only the soldiers are hurt, but the innocent are too.
Situation and setting(Elaboration): Not only the soliders are hurt, but the innocent are too. This shows how merciless the people are, how many innocent lifes they have taken, hurt, physically or mentally.

3. Language and diction(Evidence): There is a ABABAB rhyme scheme, imagery, personification and sarcasm.
Langyage and diction(Elaboration):For the rhyme scheme, there is a ABABAB format, imagery is in the forms of the colours, personification is when America is able to "foresee", in the first line. For sarcasm, "America did not foresee" which contradicts with "Now thinking twice".

4.Personal response: War should be not carried out, no matter in herbicide, weaponry, nuclear or whatever harm. All these share a commonality, they bring harm to us. Have you ever heard of a war, which did not hurt any one. Even the "cold war", silence is eerie and hurts emotionally the victims. War, big scale, small scale, world wide, country scale or even a town scale should be avoided.