Forche starts right out involving the reader from the very first line, “what you have heard is true” (1). When I read that, I felt a sense of being part of the story; as an intent listener, but invited to interject nods and sighs of understanding. Somewhere during the progression of the tale, I began to feel a bit sorry for the Colonel. This man seemed to have been driven a little off center in the head. That subtle insanity that allows one to control their environment through fear and creates a distance between a man and his family. “His wife carried a tray of coffee and sugar. His/daughter filed her nails, his son went out for the/night” (Forche lines 2-4). They had a maid. What is his wife doing carrying a tray like a servant? His daughter has a nervous habit, and his son feels led to escape the home even though there are visitors this evening.
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Nicole Cooley reminds me of the losses I've experienced in my personal life with her poem, “Compendium of Lost Objects.” At any moment in time, our lives can take a sharp turn. We can withstand the loss of childhood memorabilia and small, cool things such as “...the butterfly wing, the semiprecious stones,/the shard of mirror” (Cooley lines 1-2). Much different is the case when our entire community, livelihood and security are brought to complete waste, without warning, before our eyes. Her description of this devastating and life changing event reminds me of our frailty in this world.
Both poems exemplify this human frailty in a different way. The witness in Nicole Cooley’s poem was a victim, through no fault of their own, of a natural disaster. The Colonel would seem to be victim to his own arrogance and pride.
Works Cited
Cooley, Nicole. "Compendium of Lost Objects." The Country Between Us. 1978. Print
Forche, Carolyn. "The Colonel." Breach. 2010. Print
Go to "The Modern Writer as Witness." A website by UNLV,
for more information about literature of witness.
