Song of Napalm Analysis

Twelve poems outline the first section of Bruce Weigl’s Song of Napalm, which describes the events of the soldiers on and off the battlefield during the Vietnam War. Weigl served from 1967-1968, and his poetry attests to the experiences he had during this time. 1. Sailing to Bien Hoa – The opening poem describes a dream Bruce has of boat trip to Bien Hoa. He describes his indifference to his shrapnel-filled leg, and insteadlets his mind …

…he is beaten or drugged) and his sentence structure becomes repetitious and disorganized into thought collections describing his actions. He is thrown into a well where he beats and mutilates a monkey. Later we get a glimpse of him returning home and he tells his (family?) that he is worn. Weigl appears to go through an entire tour of duty to explain what goes on in his mind, from the briefing to the return home.