Describe in your own words how reading and hearing the poets of the first world war has made you feel about war.
War is a topic which I am extremely passionate about as my heritage is heavily influenced by the ramifications of war. Being someone who has grown up with strong ties to my Lebanese culture and heritage, when reading and hearing the poets of the first world war it reminded me of the struggles which my family had to endure during the Lebanese civil war as well as the ongoing battle that not only my relatives, but all Lebanese citizens fight. From a young age I have been told stories of my aunties and uncles fleeing the streets of Tripoli as a barrage of bullets hurdled passed. One story in particular puts just how devastating war can be into perspective. In 1985, my father was staying in his apartment in Tripoli with 3 of my aunties. One morning at about 7:30 they were sitting on the balcony drinking coffee talking about their plans for the day, when the air was filled with the sound of gun shots. Not long after, several bullets came surging through the balcony window into the living room, hitting my aunt in the shoulder. Now at this point I believed that was the worst part of the story, however I was mistaken. What really shocked me was the fact that they continued to converse and drink their coffee as if nothing happened, while my aunt simply strolled outside to join them. When reading war poetry, what horrifies me is the fact that often these occurrences become second nature to those involved. Is it really alright for people to become accustom to being shot in the shoulder first thing in the morning? Is it really alright for people to nonchalantly converse while its raining bullets and blood? I don’t know about you guys, but I think not.
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