POETRY- remains

• “on another occasion”

  ”legs it up”

  “carted off in the back of a lorry”

  implies that for soldiers, violent events are part of a routine / ordinary

  informal / conversational language shows this was the everyday event for the soldiers
• “probably armed, possibly not”

  repetition of this line is used at the start and the end of the poem

  when repeated at the end of the poem once he’s back from war, this shows the trauma he experienced is inescapable
• ”somebody else and somebody else”

  “all three of us”

  “I swear”

  the repetition shows the togetherness / all acting together

  he splits from “all” to “i” showing he sees the significance of the situation
• “rips through his life”

  juxtaposing two different types of language

  the language changes from relaxed and casual to horrific and traumatic

  this shows the before and after effects of war
• the enjambent from the 2nd to 3rd stanza 


  reflecting that the soldiers trauma is on-going
• “blood shadow”


  shows the remain of the memory, as if its haunting him- image of a shadow
• ”the drink and the drugs”

  showing how much the traumatic memories of war are embedded in him- nothing can remove it / permanent
• “he’s here in my head when i close my eyes”

  shows the extent of trauma, as it has disturbed his nature
• “REMAINS” - title


  the remain of the guilt and memory of war