Memories act as the gateway between the past and the present, whether a gateway to pain or a gateway to happiness. Yusef Komunyakaa’s confrontation of the Vietnam Memorial opens a gateway of misery and confusion for him. In his poem, “Facing It,” the poet relives his painful memories from the past, coming from early experiences in racism and later on in his life in the scarring events of the Vietnam War and Komunyakaa must learn to cope with these heavy memories without letting it destroy him. In his poem, “Facing It,” the dark slab of granite wall reflects the narrator’s attitude and memories towards the Vietnam War and all of its attached memories. As he approaches the granite wall, he says “I’m stone. I’m flesh,” (line 5). This acknowledgement
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Being a black citizen in southern America and raised in the dawn of the Civil Rights Movement, Komunyakaa “learned about despair and hope in a very particular way” (“Facing It” 109). He was forced to grow up and learn to deal with segregation and racism, resulting in his familiarity with grief and adversity. In addition, Komunyakaa had to “[take] two after-school jobs on the side,” causing his life to be further crowded and filled with stress, things that no child should have to experience …show more content…
Being an information specialist, he had to transcribe information and thoughts on the field into a newspaper article, essentially forcing himself to listen to accounts and relive his own account of the experiences. Komunyakaa says, “Every time anything happened within the area of operation, I found myself on a chopper, out to the action” (“Facing It” 109). The poet was always in the face of danger, not fully realizing at the time that he could have very easily died in his missions.
He recognized how his experiences and memories can affect one’s self when he underwent his first flashback. On a “hot muggy day… images and words began coming to him, quite unexpectedly” (“Facing It” 109). Komunyakaa partly blamed this event because of the similar tropical heat that he knew was Vietnam. Old memories and attempts to forget the past continuously resurface and Komunyakaa has to accept these facts before they become even more
Being a black citizen in southern America and raised in the dawn of the Civil Rights Movement, Komunyakaa “learned about despair and hope in a very particular way” (“Facing It” 109). He was forced to grow up and learn to deal with segregation and racism, resulting in his familiarity with grief and adversity. In addition, Komunyakaa had to “[take] two after-school jobs on the side,” causing his life to be further crowded and filled with stress, things that no child should have to experience …show more content…
Being an information specialist, he had to transcribe information and thoughts on the field into a newspaper article, essentially forcing himself to listen to accounts and relive his own account of the experiences. Komunyakaa says, “Every time anything happened within the area of operation, I found myself on a chopper, out to the action” (“Facing It” 109). The poet was always in the face of danger, not fully realizing at the time that he could have very easily died in his missions.
He recognized how his experiences and memories can affect one’s self when he underwent his first flashback. On a “hot muggy day… images and words began coming to him, quite unexpectedly” (“Facing It” 109). Komunyakaa partly blamed this event because of the similar tropical heat that he knew was Vietnam. Old memories and attempts to forget the past continuously resurface and Komunyakaa has to accept these facts before they become even more