Here I Am – A Poem by Benton
My son asked me to read a poem he wrote for his American Contemporary World class. The assignment was to write a “found poem,” which means each line of the poem is one he found somewhere in the various articles and documents they had read for the class. The subject is the Vietnam War. I was so impressed I told him I wanted to post it here for my Tuesday post so that I could link to it at dVerse Poets Pub for Open Link Night. I told him that by doing so, he would get great feedback from some other real poets, not just his mom. So dVerse poets, don’t make me a liar.
Here I am
by Benton Kruschke
Well here I am
Stalking through jungles
This country is so beautiful
I cannot express myself
No way I’ll forget this country
Here I am
A mother calmly rocks her child
There are a few kids who hang around
I hope that’s one reason why we’re here
To secure a future for them
Here I am
They all talk the same language
You couldn’t understand them
Why does Viet Nam remain silent?
Is to join hands for peace a crime?
Here I am
I lie here for seven straight days
You hear stuff nobody should ever hear
It’s practically impossible here
I feel helpless
Here I am
Today, thousands of eyes shine with hope
This country is so beautiful
So, here I am
I can’t wait to come home
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What a talented son you have and what work he put into this assignment finding all the right phrases to add up to this thrilling poem. The result is brilliant and you have true poet as your offspring! But knowing (pre)teens I think you can be even more proud of how he dedicated himself to this assignment!
Thanks. He’s actually more of an artist than a poet, but he does always do his best. Peace, Linda
Really wonderful words of what it must have been to walk in those moments, such an intuitive mind to capture it in this way. Lovely ~ Rose
Benton, that poem is a sure winner… full of emotion and so realistic I feel like I was there.
I’m too young to have experienced the reality of Vietnam but I’ve talked to some men who were there. Your poem captures their personal acounts very well. Good work! ; )
His teacher thought so, too. He got 40 out of 40 points on it! I don’t really remember Vietnam either, but my brother was over there. I’ve never talked to him about it. Thanks for the nice comment for Benton. I’ll pass it on. Peace, Linda
Your son did a great job! He has a real eye for details and flow. Supertalented! I retweeted it, as I thought he needs a larger audience. Good show!
Thanks so much for retweeting! Peace, Linda
Amazing how Benton tied it all together into a single flowing message. A talented boy, he is!
On a different note. This morning when I woke up I sat, as usual, in contemplation. Then I heard your words spoken by the Holy Spirit. And here’s what He showed me. Pray on your knees for 10-15 minutes each day. It’s a way of honoring the contingent, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” And since our land needs healing so, I tried it. Haven’t prayed on my knees in a long time, but I’m committed to being faithful, and have called a friend and asked her to do the same. Now she’s spreading the words amongst her sphere of influence… looks like you’ve been instrumental in starting a movement! Pass it on!
Debra, Yes, as biased as I may be, I can agree that my son is quite talented! God has gifted him both artistically and in terms of his compassion and generosity.
As for the movement I’ve started, I can’t take credit. It is truly the Holy Spirit who started the movement in me to my knees. I actually wrote about my own beginnings of praying on my knees in a post called “An Attitude of Kneeling.” I am so excited and blessed to see what God is doing with my faithfulness to share about my prayer life and habits! 🙂 What an awesome God we serve. I know you will be blessed, too. Peace, Linda
Now that’s a keeper… frame it and hang it on your wall!
Thanks for sharing, Linda
Budding poet in the house 🙂
Good stuff, Benton.
Blessings,
ann
Fantastic collection of lines weaved into a masterpiece! A job well done, Benton! Bravo!
Oh WOW…. and you say every line is found in articles about the topic??? WOW… Benton… Oh my God …. you would swear that he sat there and wrote this piece from scratch … this is BRILLIANT…. *speechless*
Yes, every line is from something they read for class about Vietnam. Thanks for the feedback. I know he will appreciate it when I share it with him. Peace, Linda
Well Benton–your mom is right! This is a wonderful piece-You should be proud! (I’ll bet your mom is!!)
This is wonderful! Great good job–the subject matter is close to my heart. Thanks for sharing this with us! God bless you abundantly.
nice what you were able to pull together in the found lines…and it is pieced together very well…props to your son!
Found or not, this hangs together so well as a piece. The tone is simple and all the truer for it…and the recurrent here I am a reminder of announcing how out of place the speaker is
Well congratulations on a very nice piece of work. Nothing about the war in Vietnam really made any sense at all and so very many suffered because of it, on both sides.
Most countries are beautiful to the peoples of that country. Vietnam is no excpetion, and has some beautiful land and seascapes. War makes everything seem so dreadful.
A haunting tale, told really very well. Well done Benton.
I’m not joking when I tell you I have goose bumps! What a wonderful and mature write! It’s a mighty subject to tackle, and I dare say you’ve got a word weaver on your hands. Fantastic job, Benton!
i also wonder why vietnam remains silent
Very powerful poem. The killer verse for me was
“Here I am
I lie here for seven straight days
You hear stuff nobody should ever hear
It’s practically impossible here
I feel helpless”
Great work Benton!
Linda, you are so right. This is fantastic. I’m so glad you shared it here! Tell, Benton congratulations on a great poem!