The Kite Runner - Ozbun

Clouded Mind & Empty Heart

The day came and the tournament began,

Amir exuberant with his great win.

His eyes don’t believe this cruel act of man,

what was done to his friend caused hurt within.

Oh what a great mistake Amir had made,

running from conflict he sure should have solved.

Decision haunting him for years he strayed,

these years he wished he was never involved.

Assef had trapped his dearest friend Hassan,

and committed acts Amir had not seen.

Amir decided he must now move on,

he framed his friend for stealing, cruel and mean.

Choices were made and Hassan must now go,

a clear mind and heart, Amir would not know.

I wrote my sonnet about the main character Amir’s relationship with Hassan his childhood best friend after what had happened during the tournament. Amir went out to search for Hassan, but when he found him he saw other boys raping his best friend. Instead of doing something about it, he turned and ran and decided that it’d be a better idea. Everyday after, Amir is haunted by the image of it and decides Hassan must go. So he frames his best friend for stealing money and a watch, and even though Hassan didn’t do it he admits to it. This poem was written because not only does this happen in the book it happens in America and in other parts of the world. Victims of rape remain unspoken because they are ashamed of what happened to them. Most witnesses to these acts remain unspoken as well just as Amir did in the beginning of the book. It connects to the main plot of the book, and the real world too. These decisions people make or actions that are done to them stay in their minds constantly and haunt some or most of them for the remainder of their lives.

American Dream

Some will travel near and far to get away from what they once knew

Some will leave the places they had known and had once grew

Some will never know what it is like to live in a crazed war-zone

Some will do whatever it takes to make it to life’s next stepping stone

Some will be able to do it simply and some it will take lots of time

Some will struggle and persevere in which it may be a hard climb

Some will lose ones they love along this journey toward success

Some will realize that they are more fortunate than others they will confess

Some will encounter people that help them along the way

Some will meet that someone that will be with them for the rest of their days

Some will go back to the place in which they used to reside

Some will notice it isn’t as it once was in the past and may have even cried

Some will search and search through the rest of their days

Some will find and accomplish their dreams in the simplest of ways

Some will not be able to do it as easy others and it will make them scream

Some will do whatever it takes to live the one and only American Dream

This poem relates events in the book and parts of Amir’s life that he must get through in order to reach his goals and accomplish his dreams. Along his journey to meet these, there are plenty of things he has to get past in order to truly be happy. It is a lot harder than he was expecting though. Baba, Amir’s father, and himself escape from the Soviet controlled War-Zone which is Kabul. Next they move to California and Amir attends school and meets the love of his life. However once he meets her they plan for a quick marriage due to his father's health. Baba soon dies after. Not only that but another hardship Amir must go through is the struggle to have a child as well. I chose to write this poem because it proves how hard Amir’s life is and the ups and downs along the way. Also there are plenty of people that may share a similar story in which they move to the United States seeking new opportunities.

The Message

Plenty of years

Times have changed

Ruled by violence

Tempers greatly flared

Once the family had left

Someone new was put in charge

Of their once humble abode

A call had been received

A call to come back home

An old friend deeply sick

Something important was to be said

Ultimately the trip has one reason

But first a great message

That may send some to their knees

While the sick friend was gone for treatment

Unbelievable had occurred and had happened

The friend that Amir had once knew

Will never live to see another day

He had not seen him since they were young

When he decided to cut him out

His life never to be the same

This free verse poem is about the hardships that Amir still has to go through throughout the rest of his life. He is regretful for the rest of his life of how he had cut Hassan out of his life after he had seen him raped by other boys. Another old friend called Amir to Pakistan in request of a favor, but along the way the unexpected was told to him. Hassan and his wife Farzana were killed by the Taliban in the safety of their own home. This poem connects immensely to the crazy radical events happening all around the world today. People losing loved ones left and right and not ever getting a chance to say goodbye. It is almost weekly at this point that we hear about another mass shooting, murder, or terrorist attack happening across the globe. I chose to write this because it greatly connects with the book yet wraps in some of the connections with the outside world as well. It also reminds me to always cherish the small moments in life and appreciate the ones that I am close with because there is no telling when they may leave my life for good.