h the mental self from the physical self. Poetry is,"In essence ... the spiritual and emotional dimension of the human animal."17 By separating himself the reader is able to gain a deeper insight to the psyche of this war experience.That which follows the POWs are the men who didn't come home."Missing in Action" brings the images associated with those who are missing in action to life:Men start digging in the ground propping shadows against trees outside Hanoi, but there aren't enough bones for a hash pipe.The search for soldiers yields unidentifiable bodies(shadows) and remains. "After they carve new namesinto polished black stone," The names will inevitably end up on The Wall. It will become their existence, the way they are remembered. For those who survive them,"After the flag's folded,the living fallinto each other's arms." Grief and anguish is what remains. The Wall does serve as a monument to those who are honored on it. It's very existence sheds light on a much to long ignored result of the Vietnam War. The attention brought by The Wall is much like Komunyakaals work which,"Drove a shaft of light into the inarticulate spectacle of the Vietnam War."18The nature of the war caused as has been displayed varied actions by those involved. In contrast to the status of those on The Wall, the soldiers in "Re-creating the Scene" carry out an act of rape that is explored in the work,"The metal door groans& folds shut like an ancient turtlethat won't let go". The metal door is that of a military vehicle. It represents the good and bad of western culture. The refrence to her ancestors and the child "shielded in her arms" represents the rape of her culture past and future. She is the embodiment of the present."The Confederate flagflaps from a radio antenna," alludes to the race of the attackers. The speaker points this out probably because he is African-American. He has experienced the rape of his people by the symbol that flag ...
