Rainbow Death

Rainbow Death – Hubert Wilson

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 was led astray -
Generations untold WILL pay -
Execrable effects of agent orange spray!

Context & Background

This is a poem written by an American poet, Hubert Wilson, which describes the atrocities of the Vietnam War.

The Vietnam War was initially a Civil War fought between North and South Vietnam or, between the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the State of Vietnam respectively. In a nutshell, the South was led by Ngo Dinh Diem, and was ant-communist, while the North was led by Ho Chi Minh, and were communists. China supported the North, while the US sided with the South. South Vietnam was not very stable, and generals of the army fought for power. It appeared as if the South would lose the war.

US joined the war only after an alleged attack on the Gulf of Tonkin from the North. This 'attack' was extremely dubious, and many historians believe this to be a ploy by the US to find a reason to attack the North. In this war, the US lost very badly, and had to retreat eventually.

What makes the Vietnam War stand out is its controversy. Firstly, the US's reason for attacking North Vietnam was extremely dubious. Secondly, the US used many controversial methods to fight North Vietnam. 'Agent Orange', as mentioned in this poem, is actually a type of chemical meant to kill the trees, and thus allow the US troops to locate the North Vietnamese insurgents. 'Agent Orange' was extremely harmful to the environment, and has killed a large portion of Vietnam's trees. Napalm was also used by the US. Napalm will cause large fires, and the US attacked many North Vietnamese villages with Napalm.

In conclusion, the Vietnam War was a dark spot in America's history, and many Americans consider it as America's greatest defeats.

Point of View

This poem is posed from an omnipotent narrator, most likely after the atrocities of the US in the Vietnam War was made known. It could be a foreigner looking at the mess America had made. The tone is rather taunting, asking rhetorical questions, and making shocked remarks. When the narrator remarked that 'America did not foresee / Green, pink, purple and other colors death potpourri!' he is trying to mock America by asking how could they possibly not foresee the consequences of war. The narrator also asks 'Now thinking twice?' The damage has been done, and hints that it is already too late to 'think twice'. These remarks make America appear unwise, and a little silly.

The narrator is completely not involved in the situation he is describing, and takes a rather moral stand, questioning America's decision to fight the Vietnam War. However, given that the poet is an American, it could be his self-reflections on the issue.

Situation and Setting

This poem is set after the Vietnam War, or at the peak of the war. The reader does not come into direct contact with the war, e.g he does not read about how the soldiers fight. The view is from an outsider, and looking on at the brutalities of the Vietnam War. Even though the view is rather sheltered, the reader can still learn about the dark side of the war.

Language and Meaning

This poem is very emotional, and the language is somewhat complex. The title is rather puzzling, and contradictory. A 'rainbow' is something associated with happiness and joy. A rainbow is very colourful, and bright, and thus makes most people happy. However, the poet has paired this word with something completely opposite – 'death'. This makes the poem rather puzzling and unique and first sight.

The first stanza mainly questions America's decision to go to war. The 'rainbow' analogy continues in this stanza, and again relates bright colours like 'green, pink, purple' to 'death'. The narrator describes the war as a 'potpourri' of colours and death. At this point in time, this does not really make sense. However, we start to understand it at a later point. The narrator also accuses America of being selfish by 'expecting others to pay a high price', and putting a 'toll on the innocent and unborn'. The word 'toll' has a heavy connotation to it, and alludes to the death bells. The 'innocent and unborn' refers to the civilians and young children that America bombed. The narrator further taunts America by asking if she was 'thinking twice' now, and regretting her decision.

The next stanza describes the atrocities that America had committed. The narrator once again accuses America of being untargeted in its attacks, and 'disregarding who will mourn'. America did not only attack the enemy soldiers, they also used asymmetrical warfare, and attacked the civilians. In the next line, there is a hint of a turn. America has been 'reflect(ive) about all the illness, birth defects and prematurely dead'. It seems that America has at least realised its mistake, and felt sorry. This mood continues, when the narrator proposes that America was 'nefariously … led astray' The narrator now feels that it is not America's fault that they have committed these mistakes. I guess this 'America' he was referring to was the citizens of America, not the leaders who 'nefariously" brought America to war. In the next line, the narrator states that 'generations untold WILL pay'. There are two interesting things about this line. Firstly, the narrator did not specify which 'generation' will pay – America or Vietnam. In my opinion, I fell that both generations will suffer – Vietnamese citizens will have to face the deaths of many relatives and friends, while American citizens have to face a huge military defeat. Secondly, the word 'WILL' is capped, to emphasise the confidence the narrator has when he declares that both parties will suffer. In the last line, we finally understand what the poet means in the first stanza. The narrator ends off with a bang, by saying that the 'effects of agent orange spray' are 'execrable'. Agent Orange, is as the name suggests, orange in colour. The colours the narrator was referring to in the first stanza actually was the chemicals used to kill Vietnamese.

Having understood the meaning of the 'colours' mentioned, we can understand w deeper meaning to the title. Rainbows are bright and cheerful, and symbolises the young and happy children. However, due to America's attacks on Vietnam, the young children are killed, and in a sense the 'rainbow' has died. It is also a little ironic – that people are being killed by something perceived as happy and good.

Personal Response

I feel that this poem is unusual in that it does not directly describe the war scene, but still manages to get us to understand the cruetly of war. Indeed, war is a monster that devours life. Even though America now mourns the dead with a memorial, and now understands the blunders that she had made, it is still too late, and a lot of damage has been done.