Out of the Blue Summary & Analysis
by Simon Armitage

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This poem is part of a longer sequence collectively known as "Out of the Blue" by the British poet Simon Armitage, written to commemorate the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States. The poem is spoken in the voice of a man trapped in the North Tower of the World Trade Center after the first plane has hit but before the building's collapse. As the man desperately waves a white shirt in a plea for help, the poem illustrates the pain of losing hope as well as the terror, confusion, and despair of confronting death. The poem was inspired by real-life footage of 9/11, which resulted in the deaths of nearly 3,000 people.

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