Comments on: The Vet and the IED http://booksbywomen.org/the-vet-and-the-ied-a-dv-poem/ Thu, 22 Nov 2012 19:32:48 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.3 By: Women Writers, Women, Books http://booksbywomen.org/the-vet-and-the-ied-a-dv-poem/#comment-3009 Thu, 25 Oct 2012 17:58:52 +0000 http://booksbywomenorg.netfirms.com/?p=7637#comment-3009 In reply to Bonnie Petrie.

Thank you so much for reading this Bonnie. The feedback helps me know it better, each word, each phrase, each feeling. Thank you especially for taking note of the number sequence, trying to make a connection between a prisoner of war only supposed to give his name, rank and serial number, and hiding a message in it. May each person’s journey to freedom widen the path for others. – Anora

]]> By: Bonnie Petrie http://booksbywomen.org/the-vet-and-the-ied-a-dv-poem/#comment-3007 Thu, 25 Oct 2012 17:37:07 +0000 http://booksbywomenorg.netfirms.com/?p=7637#comment-3007 Too many tears, over here. Your words are perfectly evocative of living in the burning bunker of an abusive home. Too much terror. Too much time on a razor’s edge. Too much spirit-death. Too much shame. Anora, I identified with every word.

“Can you help me”

Your message in a bottle, the whisper of a terrified child…

I am wrecked by your words, yet inspired by the narrator’s reclamation. Her body. Her soul. Her hope. Her own.

Thank you.

b

]]> By: Chantel Rhondeau http://booksbywomen.org/the-vet-and-the-ied-a-dv-poem/#comment-3004 Thu, 25 Oct 2012 16:24:48 +0000 http://booksbywomenorg.netfirms.com/?p=7637#comment-3004 Anora, I’m honestly crying right now after reading this. Very powerful words and definitely a message that needs to be spread. You captured everything perfectly and it was very emotional for me to read – the shame, the fear, the coded pleas for help that others don’t always notice, and the danger inherent in getting away.

It is a hard battle to fight and more people need to be aware. Thank you for featuring all these articles. Thanks too for sharing your poem.

]]> By: Women Writers, Women, Books http://booksbywomen.org/the-vet-and-the-ied-a-dv-poem/#comment-2988 Wed, 24 Oct 2012 21:00:59 +0000 http://booksbywomenorg.netfirms.com/?p=7637#comment-2988 In reply to Terry.

Terry – Thank you so much for your comment here. It is very helpful to have feedback when writing about difficult topics, especially when your feedback lets me know, you really get this. Thank you! Anora

]]> By: Women Writers, Women, Books http://booksbywomen.org/the-vet-and-the-ied-a-dv-poem/#comment-2987 Wed, 24 Oct 2012 21:00:03 +0000 http://booksbywomenorg.netfirms.com/?p=7637#comment-2987 In reply to Carin.

Carin, thank you so much for your comment. It’s amazing how each reader’s comments inform me differently and importantly about the poem. “Shame, like duct tape” just emerged in this most recent edit. Trying to find fresh ways of naming things so we can hear them more powerfully.

“As silence speaks” is a beautiful phrase.

]]> By: Sara Taber http://booksbywomen.org/the-vet-and-the-ied-a-dv-poem/#comment-2936 Fri, 19 Oct 2012 13:58:16 +0000 http://booksbywomenorg.netfirms.com/?p=7637#comment-2936 This poem has such a subtle and growing power, a shocking power–which is just what its subject matter deserves. I hope that other women veterans of such foreign wars can some across it. It lays out the battering pattern with a drumbeat-rhythm that mimes so well the emotional roller-coaster of an abusive home. Really a gorgeous, true, honest, penetrating, skillful piece of work. Congratulations, Anora!

]]> By: Terry http://booksbywomen.org/the-vet-and-the-ied-a-dv-poem/#comment-2922 Thu, 18 Oct 2012 19:14:14 +0000 http://booksbywomenorg.netfirms.com/?p=7637#comment-2922 I wish this poem could appear on websites that appeal to men, and especially those who are concerned about women’s welfare. The poem shocks, tells the truth, penetrates the insidiousness of the problem (secrecy, danger of taking action), and engages the reader/listener to take action. Please keep writing Anora.

]]> By: Kevlene Kelly http://booksbywomen.org/the-vet-and-the-ied-a-dv-poem/#comment-2910 Sun, 14 Oct 2012 22:53:34 +0000 http://booksbywomenorg.netfirms.com/?p=7637#comment-2910 Emily Dickinson said when she read a good poem she’d feel like the top of her head was blowing off. I think that’s what happened when I read this. The poem scares me but I gotta go on you know. There is lots of repetition which in this poem conveys a sense of doom. The imagery is powerful and holds the piece together well. I went back to some of her other writings and noticed more writings on relationships. Smile. The “duct tape” line is awesome. I also detect a tinge of authority at the end -like you (“monster”) tried to keep me down but in the end you failed. Anora sometimes says she is wasting her time because after all nobody reads poetry. Yea we do!

]]> By: Carin http://booksbywomen.org/the-vet-and-the-ied-a-dv-poem/#comment-2885 Sat, 13 Oct 2012 18:48:49 +0000 http://booksbywomenorg.netfirms.com/?p=7637#comment-2885 “Maybe it’s not so bad?
See today he’s calm.
See the storm never lasts.
Maybe nothing’s wrong..”

The confusion is maddening. And, each battle so wounding that you’re starved for the calm and sometimes high that follows.

“Shame, like duct tape”…I love that.

I felt trusted and endeared by these raw emotions. I believe as silence speaks, others will also find the courage to leave and dream another dream.

Carin

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