Loss of People and Places in Conflict
This page explores how conflict can lead to the loss of loved ones and familiar places.
The poem "Poppies" by Jane Weir depicts a mother's sense of loss when her son joins the army. Her grief is emphasized through references to textures and senses, as she desperately tries to maintain a connection with her absent child.
"The Emigrée" by Carol Rumens portrays a speaker's nostalgia for a city she once knew. The poem is framed by a sense of loss, heightened by her "impression of sunlight" on the remembered city. The text suggests that conflict is responsible for her loss, with references to the city being "at war" and "sick with tyrants."
In "Kamikaze" by Beatrice Garland, although the pilot chooses to avoid dying in the war, his family still loses him emotionally. The shame of his decision causes them to treat him as though he no longer existed, with the line "no longer the father we loved" hinting at the pain of this emotional loss.
Example: In "Poppies," the mother's act of pinning a poppy to her son's lapel symbolizes both remembrance and loss, foreshadowing his potential death in conflict.
Definition: Emigrée - A woman who has left her own country to live in another, typically for political reasons.
Highlight: These poems demonstrate how conflict can cause loss not just through death, but also through separation and changed relationships.
