13: Remains - Simon Armitage

direct address

the address makes it more personal

remains of criminal and remains in mind

title has a double meaning

on another occasion

connective statement - mid conversation - more similar events

probably armed, possibly not

repetition later in poem - conflict in mind - doubt in moment guilt late

well myself and somebody else and somebody else

he wasn’t the only one who did it - implies loads - non-specific so could be anyone

three of a kind all letting fly

They aren’t kind - admonishing guilt - they aren’t individuals, they’re soldiers

i see every round as it rips through his life (-) i see broad daylight on the other side

repetition - pronoun humanises - time slows / his guilt exaggerates what he saw - he sees through to afterlife

sort of inside out / carted off in the back of a lorry

unserious language - disrespectful - desensitized + dehumanise - treated like animals

end of story, except not really

volta - after the event it still continues

drink and the drugs won’t flush him out

soldiers didn’t get proper help

blink/ sleep/ dream

words associated with closing eyes - he can’t rest without a reminder of his actions

dug in behind enemy lines

his mind is the enemy

his bloody life in my bloody hands

anger combined with guilt (quote), repetition