Flying the flag in Bosnia

1. The poem mentions “Her face is hidden by her hands, But the hands are enough.” which shows that the woman is mourning over her son’s death. Even the grave digger shows sympathy by “A full cup of coffee, Left by the grave digger”, which shows the woman’s helplessness and others wanting to comfort her. The woman was very pitiful as “she is slumped by the cross that bears her son’s name, crudely lettered”.  The writer describes the woman as “an old woman, whose hair is parted, straight down the middle”. This shows the grief and the sadness of the old woman, which creates a sad atmosphere to the readers.
2. The writer uses imagery in “A shirt, almost new, creases still crisp from the iron, is unfurled by the wind” which shows the mourning of a dead soldier from a war. The writer continues to say “Like a flag, in a country which already has too many”. This shows that many people have already died from the war and the country’s people has suffered pain, misery and sadness like the old woman. The purpose of the poem is to tell people that war should be avoided as it causes countless deaths and the endless suffering of people.