Dawe uses the metaphor ‘the steaming chow mein’ to describe and satire the Vietnam jungle. Looking down from the plane that carries the corpses, a person would see only a mess of browns, greens, yellows – like the vegetables in a chow mein.
Further metaphors are used in the lines’ their shadows are tracing the blue curve of the Pacific with sorrowful quick fingers, heading south, heading east’. The Pacific is described as a “blue curve”, again describing the view from the windows of the jets. The use of “ sorrowful quick fingers” – personification- to describe the shadows of the jet, again gives the responder further imagery of the jet flying over the Vietnam jungle. The shadows are searching for the homes of the soldiers, quickly and sorrowfully, knowing what bad news they shall bring to those families. “Heading south, heading east” also portrays the many stop-overs made by the planes as they deliver the bad news, and corpses, to the families.
The repetition of the word “home”, plus the final word in italics, forces the responder slow down in their reading of the poem & more greatly emphasizes the sadness of the soldiers coming home for the last time.
Dawe feels that no matter where war is situated it is ‘ridiculous’. It is only a struggle for power, a struggle to gain certain ‘curvatures’ of the earth. This is portrayed in the offset phrase “Ridiculous curvatures”.
Dawe uses vivid visual imagery to emphasise the emotional damage caused to friends a family through the loss of a loved one, a deep suffering that is often left unrecorded in the annals of history. “Telegrams tremble like leaves from a wintering tree” and “the spider swings in his bitter geometry”, exemplify the arbitrary grief that affects those who receive notices. of the telegrams shows them as “trembling” under the burden of the news they must deliver, ending any hope for families wishing their loved ones shall return alive. The relation of telegrams to leaves falling from a “wintering tree” is a powerful image, providing the reader with some idea of the immense number of dead soldiers. Dawe further suggests that a “wide web” joins all countries, with none able to escape the “spider grief” associated with war. By exposing the destructive and dehumanising aspects of war, Dawe appeals to the masses, removing it from its falsely glorified position.
Through the further use of imagery, Dawe succeeds in writing poetry that has universal appeal by underscoring the savage nature of war. The “whining like hounds” emphasizes the destructive characteristics of war, also depicting dogs as sympathetic feelers of human emotion. For these dead soldiers, there is no big parade and music, only “the howl of their homecoming”. The world famous twenty-one gun salute is also mocked, “mute salute”, further establishing the worldwide notion of dogs as mans best friend, who unfortunately cannot voice their grief in words. Although these men have made the ultimate sacrifice by giving up their lives, the fact that they get no recognition for this act except from their dogs emphasizes the global concept of war as dehumanising.
The final line of the poem creates the idea of , further endorsing the notion of senseless life loss, a universal theme. “They’re bringing them home now, too late” because the chance to save their lives has now past. However, it is also “too early” since all these soldiers are too young, leaving behind an unfulfilled life. Unfortunately these soldiers will also never receive the true recognition they deserve for their efforts that would have been given at the end of the war. By using the technique of paradox, Dawe makes a final attempt at clarifying international misconception of war as beneficial.
In all, Dawe has successfully established the uselessness of war. He can be said to be “speaking for those who have no means of speaking” in the way he presents the attitudes of the silent, dead soldiers being flown home from Vietnam. With the aid of poetic techniques he arouses sympathy, carefully manipulating the audience to reflect upon his own views towards war – humanity does not learn its lesson.