“Facing it” by Yusef Komunyakaa By Diana Rodriguez, John Ford, Thuy Nguyen and Priscilla Ocampo

Biography of Yusef Komunyakaa Yusef Komunyakaa was born in Bogalusa, Louisiana, during the start of the Civil Rights movement, on April 29th, 1947.His real name is James William Brown Jr. Komunyakaa entered the army in 1969 to serve in the Vietnam War as a correspondent and editor of the Southern Cross. He served until 1970 and earned a Bronze Star for his service in the war. After his year in the war Yusef Komunyakaa began writing poetry and books. Over the years he has published 12 volumes of poetry and co edited two volumes of Jazz Poetry and a volume of Blue Notes. He became a teacher in creative writing and taught at schools such as Princeton University, the University of New Orleans, and Indiana University. He was elected chancellor and served from 1999-2005.

Facing It by Komunyakaa He is staring at himself in the reflective stone wall. His emotions take over.In the Memorial he is stone but in real life he is flesh and bones. The reflection is very serious because he is recalling tragic events. Turns away half excepting the wall to force him to stay but it lets him leave. He is inside the Memorial once more. All the names written are of those who died serving in the war. My black face fades, hiding inside the black granite. I said I wouldn’t, dammit: No tears. I’m stone. I’m flesh. My clouded reflection eyes me like a bird of prey, the profile of night slanted against morning. I turn this way--the stone lets me go. I turn that way--I’m inside the Vietnam Veterans Memorial again, depending on the light to make a difference. I go down the 58,022 names,

He believes he will see his own name engraved into the wall. As he touches his fellow soldier’s name and he see scenes of the war flash in head. All the names of the fallen soldiers reflect on a womens blouse when she goes to leave all the names stay on wall forever engraved but she walks away free and alive. In the sky above a plane passes by the wall it could be just a regular plane or he’s recalling a plane that carried bombs in the War.The eyes of a fallen ally stare back at him in stone. Him losing his arm in war or in the relfection. In the stone it looks like the woman is trying to srub away the name but in reality the woman is brush a young boy’s hair. half-expecting to find my own in letters like smoke. I touch the name Andrew Johnson; I see the booby trap’s white flash. Names shimmer on a woman’s blouse but when she walks away the names stay on the wall. Brushstrokes flash, a red bird’s wings cutting across my stare. The sky. A plane in the sky. A white vet’s image floats closer to me, then his pale eyes look through mine. I’m a window. He’s lost his right arm inside the stone. In the black mirror a woman’s trying to erase names: No, she’s brushing a boy’s hair.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Designed by artist Maya Lin and completed in 1982 Over two acres It contains three separate parts: the Three Servicemen Memorial, the Vietnam Women's Memorial, and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall Has more than 58,000 names The artist chose the material of stone especially for the Memorial

Structure Type of Poem: Free Verse: ( poems are without rhythms and rhyme schemes; do not follow regular rhyme scheme rules and still provide artistic expression.) Metric: This poem has 31 lines with 12 enjambements and 3 caesuras. Poetic Devices and Figurative Language: Simile ( a direct comparison of two unlike objects, using like or as.) Imagery ( the use of words to represent things, actions, or ideas by sensory description.) Symbolism ( the use of one object to suggest another, hidden object or idea.)

Diction and Tone Tone: Diction: In the this poem the diction is depressing it uses dark works such as Black, fades No tears Profile of night (can mean death) Smoke, booby trap Pale eyes lost Tone: The tone is dark, depressing, and full of negative emotion. ~~The author expresses his emotions about the visits he had made to the Memorial staring at names that once were people he served with and knew personally.

My black face fades, hiding inside the black granite. I said I wouldn't, dammit: No tears. I'm stone. I'm flesh. My clouded reflection eyes me like a bird of prey, the profile of night slanted against morning. I turn this way--the stone lets me go. I turn that way--I'm inside the Vietnam Veterans Memorial again, depending on the light to make a difference. I go down the 58,022 names, look through mine. I'm a window. half-expecting to find He's lost his right arm my own in letters like smoke. inside the stone. In the black mirror I touch the name Andrew Johnson; a woman's trying to erase names: I see the booby trap's white flash. No, she's brushing a boy's hair. Names shimmer on a woman's blouse but when she walks away the names stay on the wall. Brushstrokes flash, a red bird's wings cutting across my stare. The sky. A plane in the sky. A white vet's image floats closer to me, then his pale eyes

Theme The overall theme of this poem is about facing your fears and overcoming all the different elements life puts you through. Much like the author had to face all the emotion he bottled up after the war once he saw the wall and let go.

Pictures