represents. This extends the scope of this event beyond acts of war. This act robs the woman as well asher culture of their humanity, much the same as that which Komunyakaa has felt all his life,"The impulse that motivated Komunyakaa as a small boy in his Louisiana hometown of Bogalusa impels him now as a GI in Vietnam,both personae laying claim to their humanity."19 This image evokes feelings in direct contrast to those felt when discussing The Wall.The Wall and all that it encompasses serves as the template for the final selection,"Facing It". At first glance "It" is simply The Wall itself, but on further examination, the words have a deeper meaning.The poem begins:My black face fadeshiding inside the black granite I said I wouldn't,dammit: No tears.I'm stone I'm flesh."The black Vietnam vet speaker in the poem apprehends the reflective walls present and future as well as its past, the war itself, and all three definitely in terms of the speaker's blackness, a comensurable, undeniable fact of his existence, past, present, and future."20 The wall serves as his reflection of himself. He moves back and forth alternately absorbed by the wall and released. After this process has run its course, he begins to mourn:I go down the 58,022 nameshalf-expecting to findmy own in letters like smoke.I touch the name Andrew Johnson;I see the booby trap's white flashAgain the speaker searches for closure and is unable to find it. The memories remain constant.The "Names" that appear to be on a woman's blouse don't go away,"Names shimmer on a woman's blouse but when she walks awaythe names stay on the wall". It seems as though the speaker is attempting to void the past. The realization though is that life must go on. The work illustrates that which the speaker in "Jungle Surrender" already knows, the interrogator is the voice within.Komunyakaa examines the Vietnam Diaspora using visions, expressions, and a thought process that brings the reader ...
