1. Extract from 'Out of the Blue'
Simon Armitage
Simon Armitage was born in 1963
in West Yorkshire. As well as
poetry, he's also written four
stage plays, and writes for TV, film
and radio. He now teaches
creative writing at Manchester
Metropolitan University.
Armitage just wants to tell the story of the victims, and
perhaps this is a story that gets marginalised and even
forgotten when we talk of September 11th and its legacy.
Sometimes we talk about major events in a very casual
way, their impact and importance somehow lost. Perhaps
Armitage wants to take us back to the actual moment
when it started and remember the emotion of the event.
It is for this reason that poems about war, conflict and
death sometimes carry more emotional impact and
significance than a written history. Sure we can learn the
names and dates but what about the feelings and fears of
the people who were really there?
Poetry has the potential to transcend the historical
perspective and offer something visceral and
organic. Looking at September 11th again through
Armitage's poem we see a man being driven
towards a horrible and violent death at the hands of
an unseen attacker. He is helpless to escape. He is
not a soldier, he is not a politician or a leader of
people, he is a victim. When we think of this event
we often call to mind the image of the Twin Towers
burning against the iconic Manhattan skyline.
Armitage goes deeper and offers a view from inside
the building, from inside the fires, a view we never
got to see.
This is an extract from a long poem called
"Out of the Blue" that Armitage wrote in
2006 to commemorate the September
11th terrorist attacks. The poem is
narrated by a victim of the World Trade
Centre terrorist attacks in New York on
September 11th 2001.The victim is
describing being in one of the burning
buildings. He addresses someone
watching the scene on television. He
pleads for help, but it's impossible — the
only possible outcome is death.
You should compare this
poem with other poems
about the same themes:
individual experiences:
'Poppies'; helplessness:
'Belfast Confetti', 'Futility’;
death: 'Mametz Wood’,
'Come On, Come Back’.

2. Extract from 'Out of the Blue'
You have picked me out.
Through a distant shot of a building burning
you have noticed now
that a white cotton shirt is twirling, turning.
In fact I am waving, waving.
Small in the clouds, but waving, waving.
Does anyone see a
soul worth saving?
And when will you come?
Do you think you are watching, watching
a man shaking crumbs
or pegging out washing?
I am trying and trying.
The heat behind me is searing, searing,
but the white of surrender is not yet flying.
I am not at the point of launching, leaving.
A bird goes by.
The depth is appalling. Appalling
that others like me
should be wind-milling, wheeling, spiralling, falling.
Are your eyes believing,
believing?
Here in the gills
I am still breathing.
But tiring, tiring.
Sirens below me are wailing, firing.
My arm is numb and my nerves are sagging.
Do you see me, my love. I am fialing. Flagging.

3. You have picked me out.
Through a distant shot of a building burning
you have noticed now
that a white cotton shirt is twirling, turning.
In fact I am waving, waving.
Small in the clouds, but waving, waving.
Does anyone see a
soul worth saving?
In the extract what we see is
speaker's last, desperate
moments. The extract starts
by establishing a point of view
and engaging the reader
through the use of the
pronoun 'you' which draws
reader's focus.
A lot of the video footage of
the disaster was shot from the
high windows of adjacent
buildings, and from far below
at street level. The shaky,
amateur quality of the footage,
some of it shot on camera
phones, gave the attacks a
sharply defined human quality
that is often lost amongst the
high budget, narrow focus of
big name news corporations.
This is emphasised through the
word ‘distant’.
As we read the poet (and reader) zoom in
on one man, a spec in the distance whose
only distinguishing feature is his white shirt,
'twirling and turning' in the wind as he,
presumably, hangs precariously from a
ledge or window high up on one of the two
buildings.
The poet is doing two
important things here, firstly
he is establishing a sense of
drama and anxiety and
secondly he is moving what
we call the narrative focus on
the poem from the general to
the particular, or put another
way, from the big picture to
the fine details, in this
instance the man hanging
from the window. This
technique refines the reader's
perception of the poem.
Just like in films, whenever the
director zooms in we know that we
are supposed to pay attention since
important information is being
presented. The speaker tells us that
he is waving and the twitching,
twirling of his shirt is his desperate
attempts to attract attention. This
wave forms an interesting
juxtaposition between the horror of
the situation and a the friendly
gesture of a wave. On the other
hand we might also think about the
implications of a wave of goodbye,
one last salute to the world.
The last two lines of the second stanza
could suggest he feels people are able but
unwilling to help or alternatively, highlights
his feelings of insignificance and
inconsequentiality. This can link to the
casualties and victims of war which is
relevant to a number of poems in this
cluster.

4. And when will you come?
Do you think you are watching, watching
a man shaking crumbs
or pegging out washing?
I am trying and trying.
The heat behind me is searing, searing,
but the white of surrender is not yet flying.
I am not at the point of launching, leaving.
The poet continues with his
use of juxtaposed images
with the speaker contrasting
his terrible situation and his
waves with that of pegging
out washing and shaking off
crumbs. The effect of this
isn't to diminish or trivialise
what is happening but to
emphasise the extremity of
the situation. Like many of
Armitage's darker poems this
also has a hint of the
macabre (a morbid and
deathly tone), his use of
juxtaposition doesn't dilute
the impact but makes it
stand out as all the more
terrible.
If we look closer we see that the
third stanza starts with a direct
question to the onlooker, 'so when
will you come?' which can be read as
a desperate plea for help, hence the
comparison between shaking crumbs
and fighting for life.
The repetition of 'trying' and
use of end-rhyme in the fourth
stanza add further emphasis to
this sense of impending doom
and anxiety. The heat of the
fires behind him are 'bullying'
him towards his death,
'driving' him, although he is
not yet ready to surrender. We
sense his end is close.

5. A bird goes by.
The depth is appalling. Appalling
that others like me
should be wind-milling, wheeling, spiralling,
falling.
Are your eyes believing,
believing?
Here in the gills
I am still breathing.
In this moment the poet gives us an unexpected
image - a bird flying by - which gives us pause to
think while reminding us of the 'appalling' height
of the building, which from the man's point view
looks like depth falling away beneath him.
Below he sees other
people falling, their
arms 'windmilling', their
bodies 'wheeling,
spiralling' and
ultimately 'falling'
towards the ground. It
is a truly awful image to
picture and it is
precisely these shocking
details which strike the
reader as they progress
through the poem. It is
almost too much to
comprehend, a fact
which the speaker
reiterates when he says
'are your eyes
believing'?
The extract does not give
us the end of the poem,
which charts the
aftermath of both 9/11
and the personal, familial
consequences of the
speaker's death. What
we get is a series of
politicised rhetorical
questions about how
these events changed
the world and, to a large
extent, ushering into
existence a new breed of
paranoia and anxiety
over terrorism. These
questions represent a
very pessimistic vision of
our modern society
where everything seems
to built on a foundation
of sand, where truth and
promises cannot hold to
be true.

6. But tiring, tiring.
Sirens below me are wailing, firing.
My arm is numb and my nerves are sagging.
Do you see me, my love. I am failing. Flagging.
As the poem nears its end the
urgency and pace of the poem
seem to reach a breaking
point, he is 'tiring' and the
sirens below seem to grow
louder alomst as if they are
beckoning to him.
His arm grows numb, his
nerves are drained and
finally he tell us that he is
'failing.' We should note
here that the poet refers to
another person, his 'love'
which could mean that in
his final moment he is
speaks as if he is addressing
his love, his partner,
perhaps his wife. It could be
that the entire poem is
related as if he is addressing
this absent person, maybe
an attempt to comfort
himself in the belief that
somehow, in this terrible
moment of his life, his Love
is with him in spirit, looking
on, staying with him.
Regardless, it is a haunting
and disturbing ending,
where the word 'flagging'
seems to defy a clear sense
of closure since 'flagging'
means he is still managing
to hang on.
Addressing the structure of the poem we see that it does not conform to a
specific poetic form which is very typical of contemporary poetry. There is,
however, a strong, repetitive use of end-rhyme exploiting the 'ing' suffix and a
look at the whole poem reveals that the poet tends to use a common rhyme
scheme particular to each section of which this section twelve. The overall
effect of this is to give each section or verse its own character and help to
create a distinct individuality while keeping it roughly in tune with the rest of
the poem. This also helps to provide a sense of progression as if the story is
unfolding and not just a reflected on a single moment in time.
The repetitive structure lends
the poem a sense of relentless
inevitability, like a train heading
towards a cliff, unable to stop
or slow or change its course.
This reading would certainly fit
with the theme and context of
the poem. The poet has chosen
to repeat several key words
most of the stanzas which lends
the poem a degree of formality
and cohesion. In some instances
these words form a bridge from
one line to next (enjambment)
adding a nice flourish of
emphasis and rhythm to drive
the poem forward.

7. But tiring, tiring.
Sirens below me are wailing, firing.
My arm is numb and my nerves are sagging.
Do you see me, my love. I am failing. Flagging.
As the poem nears its end the
urgency and pace of the poem
seem to reach a breaking
point, he is 'tiring' and the
sirens below seem to grow
louder alomst as if they are
beckoning to him.
His arm grows numb, his
nerves are drained and
finally he tell us that he is
'failing.' We should note
here that the poet refers to
another person, his 'love'
which could mean that in
his final moment he is
speaks as if he is addressing
his love, his partner,
perhaps his wife. It could be
that the entire poem is
related as if he is addressing
this absent person, maybe
an attempt to comfort
himself in the belief that
somehow, in this terrible
moment of his life, his Love
is with him in spirit, looking
on, staying with him.
Regardless, it is a haunting
and disturbing ending,
where the word 'flagging'
seems to defy a clear sense
of closure since 'flagging'
means he is still managing
to hang on.
Addressing the structure of the poem we see that it does not conform to a
specific poetic form which is very typical of contemporary poetry. There is,
however, a strong, repetitive use of end-rhyme exploiting the 'ing' suffix and a
look at the whole poem reveals that the poet tends to use a common rhyme
scheme particular to each section of which this section twelve. The overall
effect of this is to give each section or verse its own character and help to
create a distinct individuality while keeping it roughly in tune with the rest of
the poem. This also helps to provide a sense of progression as if the story is
unfolding and not just a reflected on a single moment in time.
The repetitive structure lends
the poem a sense of relentless
inevitability, like a train heading
towards a cliff, unable to stop
or slow or change its course.
This reading would certainly fit
with the theme and context of
the poem. The poet has chosen
to repeat several key words
most of the stanzas which lends
the poem a degree of formality
and cohesion. In some instances
these words form a bridge from
one line to next (enjambment)
adding a nice flourish of
emphasis and rhythm to drive
the poem forward.