I first read this poem by Yusef K. before high school and again on either the ACT or SAT. Since it was on a standardized test it must then be considered graspable enough for 17-year-olds.
And it is definitely approachable. It begins almost prose-like. It's clear who is talking (a Vietnam veteran) and where he is (the Vietnam War Memorial) and how he is feeling (lost in a rush of memories and fighting against those feelings).
When I first read this poem I remember thinking that the last line fell flat. And I still think it sticks out. I now also think it's the man's purposeful re-entry into present time. No, not everything is in or about the Vietnam Memorial. Sometimes, it really is just a woman brushing a boy's hair.
I also think that by having that as the last line of the poem it makes the whole poem, full of death and memories of carnage, a hopeful one. It's realistic, but also ends on a hopeful note by having it end in reality. The current reality.
Although, how much has Yusef left his Vietnam past behind if after visiting the Memorial, almost drowning in memories, and managing to pull himself back into the present reality, he spends the hours and days to write this quality poem?
Favorite line: "My black face fades,/hiding inside the black granite./...I'm stone. I'm flesh."
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
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Love your comments, but don't understand why the last line seem flat to you
ReplyDeleteIt seemed flat to me in high school because it provided no spring-board for new thoughts or possibilities. It simply landed the poem in the real world and then left. It didn't provide a "what happened next". These days, I am okay with this sort of ending. I still think it is not a common way to end a poem (and thus still "sticks out" to my ear), but I think it's a great way to end this particular poem because I now sense that it does give hints as to "what happened next."
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