"The Stick Soldiers" by Hugh Martin

The Stick Soldiers, written by Hugh Martin, is a collection of poems about the author’s experience as a soldier during the Iraqi War. The poems take on an interesting point of view because unlike the poems we read by Yusef Komunyakaa and Brian Turner, Martin’s poems encompasses a wider range of topics with regards to a soldier’s experiences such as the training camp, day-to-day operations, or periods of R&R in addition to what we generally read of war narratives (brutality and sadness in war & negative psychological effects of war). For me, one of the things that I noticed after reading Martin’s poems was how relatable (to an extent) the poems can be. I think Martin heavy emphasis on the representation of the soldier’s daily experiences accounts for some part of the poems connection to the readers. This differs to Komunyakaa and Turner because their poems focuses on specific aspects of war or the psychological effects that war had on them, which is something a civilian could probably never fully comprehend. So far, two of my favorite poems were “First Engagement” and “Four-Letter Word.” After reading, “First Engagement,” I thought to myself…I’m not sure if I can even comprehend how much anguish the soldiers could have felt for unintentionally killing innocent civilians. But then again, “First Engagement” conveyed to me the constant fear that soldiers have living in an unpredictable environment, and for that very reason, they are always trying to be one step ahead because any wrong move could be your very last. “Four-Letter Word,” to me, was another very interesting poem. The word “Iraq” for me doesn’t have too much meaning, except perhaps the thought of a fruitless war, however, for the author, the same word had an entirely different connotation because for him, it brought back terrible memories.