Post by Keviana S on Sept 17, 2017 15:38:55 GMT -6
In the poem Facing It, the poet, Yusef Komunyakaa uses very good imagery, which helps give the readers a sense of imagination. In the fifth line "I'm stone. I'm flesh" in literal terms mean that he was staring into the memorial and his flesh was really made of stone. He is flesh because his body is made of flesh. In figurative terms when he says that he is stone, he is referring to the outer shell of his body. It is hard but when he says he is flesh, he figuratively means that he has a soft spot on the inside and he can show emotion. Also in Facing it he says “I see booby trap’s white flash.” Literally I feel like the sun just glared in his face off the shiny granite memorial. Figuratively he has a flashback making everything feel realistic of his friend mentioned earlier in the poem named Andrew Johnson who died walking over a landmine and blew up. Another sentence I can picture is when he states “I said I wouldn’t, dammit: no tears.” He was crying and got upset at himself for crying. He wanted to be strong but realized he was only human for crying like anyone would if they lost someone in the war. Or if they were right there in combat then they would feel the pain all over again. His flashback of his friend came up as soon as he saw his friends name in the stone. He pictured it as clear as day like he was standing right in the middle of combat and his friend was being blown up once again. He probably felt like he belong in the stone or he’d also should’ve died on the battlefield. He had at that very moment relived the pain hurt and have an image of his friend dying right in front of him by just looking at a name.
Furthermore, in Facing it Yusef says, “a woman's trying to erase names: No, she’s brushing a boy’s hair.” Literally he is seeing a reflection of a lady brushing a boy’s hair in the memorial. Figuratively he see’s the lady trying to brush names off to either try and forget the death of the loved one or she is brushing away hoping it can bring the loved one back. The woman was only brushing a boy's here but in her showdown she did seems as if she was trying to erase the pain of whoever died so they can live again Like maybe she wanted the love one back again like everyone else there but it was a simple thing as brushing a boy’s hair. When he sees the reflection of the woman on the stone he basically says that she leaves and goes on with life but the people that are carved unto this stone will always be there, life is literally done for them and there is no turning back. I think these images support the poem because it helps the reader understand the story more. If they can picture and put them self into the shoes of the author then they would understand his feelings. Even though he didn’t want to do it, I think he did it so that he can face his fears and get over the hard memories that he had. It won't help the memories go away but it might help him get past it a lil better.
Lastly, he says something interesting “Names shimmer on a woman's blouse but when she walks away the names stay on the wall.” This means people come and go all day to see loved ones and walks off to go home having this only as a memory until it fades in their mind. They will maybe they will start to forget. No matter what you do or say and think those people who died will still be dead and their names will forever be on that memorial. All these images gives me a understanding or a soldier's perspective you will fight for your country and come back with honor but will always have the memories and pain of those you fight with that died memory in your mind. Therefore I would say that the poet, Yusef is involved in what is memorialized.
Furthermore, in Facing it Yusef says, “a woman's trying to erase names: No, she’s brushing a boy’s hair.” Literally he is seeing a reflection of a lady brushing a boy’s hair in the memorial. Figuratively he see’s the lady trying to brush names off to either try and forget the death of the loved one or she is brushing away hoping it can bring the loved one back. The woman was only brushing a boy's here but in her showdown she did seems as if she was trying to erase the pain of whoever died so they can live again Like maybe she wanted the love one back again like everyone else there but it was a simple thing as brushing a boy’s hair. When he sees the reflection of the woman on the stone he basically says that she leaves and goes on with life but the people that are carved unto this stone will always be there, life is literally done for them and there is no turning back. I think these images support the poem because it helps the reader understand the story more. If they can picture and put them self into the shoes of the author then they would understand his feelings. Even though he didn’t want to do it, I think he did it so that he can face his fears and get over the hard memories that he had. It won't help the memories go away but it might help him get past it a lil better.
Lastly, he says something interesting “Names shimmer on a woman's blouse but when she walks away the names stay on the wall.” This means people come and go all day to see loved ones and walks off to go home having this only as a memory until it fades in their mind. They will maybe they will start to forget. No matter what you do or say and think those people who died will still be dead and their names will forever be on that memorial. All these images gives me a understanding or a soldier's perspective you will fight for your country and come back with honor but will always have the memories and pain of those you fight with that died memory in your mind. Therefore I would say that the poet, Yusef is involved in what is memorialized.
