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The writer of this poem makes it somewhat difficult to understand which exact side he takes when it comes to the meaning of what the memorial is meant for. A memorial seems to be more constantly known today as an event or site of remembrance or honoring for someone or something that has significant meaning to the rest of the world or certain group of people. However, I feel like the writer is leaning more towards the idea of a memorial being for people who are apart of the thing that is being memorialized. The main reason behind this is due to the fact is what I interpreted out of the poem. I believe that the character in the poem is looking at either a painting or site that is portraying a time of war and the character is looking at it, attempting to honor the lost lives. The character attempts to feel involved in the memorial by saying they expected to find their name amongst the 58,022 names in the smoke. Also their is a lot of imagery interpreted in this poem with the word choice of “red birds” which I have heard before to be a type of plane or plane group that was used during wars. I feel like the whole purpose of this painting is to honor the lost lives of this time.

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In the poem "Facing It" by Yusef Kommuyakaa, the author discusses his visitation to the memorial of the Vietnam War and he has a tone of painful and agonizing because he is picturing very horrible and vivid images of his time during the war. I believed that this poem is arguing that the Memorial is for not only for those who are not familiar with the time during war but also the for those who lived the event to see if they understand or can feel the pain that those who witnessed the event of war feels. He described in the poem as he touched the name Andrew Johnson and he could visualize the body in the of his dead flesh. Pertaining to the title, the author needs to face what happened in the war and not try to avoid it or act as if nothing ever happened ti him. It is okay to cry even though in the beginning of the poem he said that he wouldn't cry but he did. It is unhealthy to hold all of your motions inside so the author is showing how he is coping and releasing his motions about what happened. When one cries about something they are letting out everything they are holding in and if this memorial did not force him to think about that time he would be walking around with this burden on his shoulders forever. The people who did not experience the war, the memorial is beneficial to them because they can see the images of what happened and have sympathy for those who were in the war.

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In Yuself Komunyakaa's poem "Facing It" Komunyakaa describes how the memorial affects those who were involved in what's memorialized. The memorial seems to engulf Komunyakaa and takes his identity, bringing him back into the past of the Vietnam War. This gives the poem a point of view of a solider and the first hand emotions of what he must had felt while being in the war. Komunyakaa uses irony by showing his conflicting emotions by stating that "[he's] stone. [he's] flesh". The statement creates a self vs emotions conflict, showing the struggle between the memories that start to flood his mind. Komunyakaa using imagery to further draw the character and the reader deeper into the memory of what happened while Komunyakaa was in Vietnam.

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In Yuself Komunyakaa's  poem he is describing his experience as a Vietnam War and his encounter with the Vietnam War Memorial. Yuslef position is that the memorials are for people who were involved in the war and know first hand account information. In his poem he uses imagery to describe the Vietnam War. For instance, he speaks about "I said I wouldn't...no tears." AT this point Yuself is doing his best to not cry but being memorialized causes him to be emotional remembering  his experience as a soldier.  Yuself arguing that the ones who was in the war have a better connection to the memorial and understand each key specific detail in the war. Yuslef says that " I go down 58,022 names" which shows he is putting time and effort into his visit at the memorial, which shows that memorials are for veterans of the war. Also he says that, "I touch the name Andrew Johnson and I see the bloody traps," and here again the memorial is more important to veterans and they value the memorial with a deeper meaning. Therefore Yuself describing his experience at the memorial proves that its for the memorialized because they have a deeper connection and value each piece of the memo

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Yusef Komunyakaa’s poem “Facing It” holds the position that a memorial is for the people who were involved in what’s memorialized because for starters Komunyakaa is a Vietnam War Veteran, “I go down the 58,022 names half-expecting to find my own in letters like smoke.” Once Komunyakaa comes across the name “Andrew Johnson” he immediately begins to have recollections of the harsh environments of Vietnam. Andrew Johnson is the name of a soldier who fell victim to a booby trap explosive out in Vietnam. Touching that name has ignited a memory, an instant image. The granite stone represents the war, the past, the reflection of Komunyakaa as he peers into the surface of the present. The fact that Komunyakaa is triggered by the names embedded on the memorial indicates that the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is for those who can relate to him. He mentions a woman, “Names shimmer on a woman’s blouse but when she walks away the names stay on the wall…” As the black soldier studies the granite surface and the names he reflected a woman's blouse. The blouse seems to have the names printed on it and he thinks she'll take the names away when she walks off but the names remain. Komunyakaa’s description of the woman implies that she had no connection to the memorial, it seems as though she was just coming to see the historical sight but she had no physical indicators that she felt the same emotions as Komunyakaa or the memorial meant anything to her because her presence seemed to be brief as opposed to Komunyakaa who wishes that the names disappear because it reminds him of the the war, the battles, the bombs and the deaths. The final three lines bring the speaker back to the present but not before he confuses the brushing of a boy's hair with the wiping away of those names, of the past and all its hideous truths.

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In the poem “Facing it” Yusef Komunyakaa sides with the idea that memorials are for the people involved. He shows this though the point of view shown in the poem, the character is in the Vietnam Veteran Memorial and looks for his name in the 58,022 names over him. He instead touches the name Andrew Johnson which causes him to remember a moment in war, that the reader can infer is what caused Johnson to lose his arm. The mysterious woman that appears afterwards shifts the poem, in a more reflective tone making the protagonist of the poem see himself as a window and then think the woman is trying to erase Johnson, only to realize she actually trying to brush a boy’s hair. The poem leads me to believe that the protagonist was involved in Johnson somehow, whether that's a partner or enemy.

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In the poem “facing it “ by Yusef Komunyakaa he has declared that’s the best way to describe a memorial is to be the one who’s involved -Vietnam War- understanding who and what is begin memorialized. Starting the poem off by initiating that “My black, face fades” which could possibly be an indication for why his reaction is if such, additional the poem starts with an recollection of memories. The author has been in the war. The idea that he is strong but is he still an sensitive person. “ I go down 58,022 names half expecting to finding my own” familiar with the system he knows the process it takes and hoping that he wouldn’t be in that predicament. The author continues to maneuver from the reality to his memory, injecting something to erase the names from the wall . Hoping that the past could rewind and start over without losing the ones he loved. “Names shimmer on a woman’s blouse but when she walks away the name stays on the wall”disappointment;upset that the names had stayed on the wall. A regret , which was on the wall it made the author feel horrified that he couldn’t forget about the ones that are gone. His memory made the experience more relatable

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Yusef Komunyakaa, in his poem “Facing it”, describes in detail the horrible memories a real Vietnam Veteran witness as he looks at the Vietnam memorial and things in reality that remind him of the horrible memories. Since people believe that a memorial is either for the people who were involved in what’s memorialized or it is an teaching tool for people who won’t there; his position in this debate is clear that he believe that a memorial is for people who was in involved in what’s memorialized. Evidence to support this is throughout the poem because the poet uses detailed imagery and key words that indicates that the speaker was in fact involved in the Vietnam War. When the speaker talks to himself and says “I said I wouldn’t dammit:No tears” the fact that he is reframing himself from crying not only is prove that he is emotional about the event but also a solider. The fact that soldiers are tough and reframe from showing their emotional explains how the speaker is the person involved in the war. Another indicator is when the speaker states that he is inside the “Vietnam Veterans Memorial again”, that key word “again” means that he visit this memorial more than once which assumes that he have deep thoughts about this memorial to revisit it more than once. For a person to visit something one means they don’t have deep connections or interactions with the event and they can’t relate to what they’re seeing ,but for someone to visit one site multiple times demonstrates their sense of relating to or being involve with it. After the poet tells his exact location, he then tell what he personally sees and the memories he get from the things he see. The speaker tells the readers that he looking at “ 58,022 names half- expecting” to find his own name. The purpose of the poet for telling this exact number is because it connects to why the speaker could “ half-expecting to find “ his own. Those who may argue that his position was that a memorial is a teaching tool for those who won’t there, might use this as evidence to support their argument. But this evidence is deceiving because it says he might not see his name which represents he wasn’t there to witness the horrible events, but the number’s purpose is used to let readers know that it was just too many Veterans that’s why he might couldn’t find his own. More evidence to support the position is Komunyakaa is when the speak points out a specific person “ Andrew Johnson” and tell all the memories that he had which thinking of that name. This is the overall closure to argue that the speaker was involved in the war because with this name the speaker remembers “booby traps” and the fact that Johnson “lost his right arm” and how the sight of an plane in reality reminded him of “ A white vet’s image”.For a person to tell such detailed things must mean that he was one who was involved in what memorialized because he remember deep details of what happen. Also after looking at the whole poem the fact that the speaker is so traumatized of this memorial supports that Komunyakaa thinks that a Memorial is for people who were involved in what’s memorized.

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In “ Facing It ” Yusef Komunyakaa is writing his experience as a Vietnam War veteran visiting the Vietnam Veterans Memorial . This poem takes the position that memorials are for the people who were involved in what’s being memorialized rather than to teach people who weren’t there. The poem describes the memories of the author as he visits the memorial. “ I’m stone. I’m flesh.”  Although the author lived he still feels he is apart of the memorial because he is connected to the events.  The memorial brings back memories for the veterans . “ I touch the name Andrew Johnson; I see the booby traps white flash”  For the veterans the memorial has a very deep meaning because they knew those memorialized and experienced the events. People who aren’t veterans do not pay attention to the memorial . The quotes “ Names shimmer on the women’s blouse … she walks away” and “ No, she’s brushing a boy’s hair” so that while the author was deeply invested in the memorial the bystanders paid little attention and continued to move along. Through the Komunyakaa’s telling the reader realizes that memorials are for the what’s memorialized because it evokes emotions for those involved instead of teaching those who weren’t.

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“Facing It,” Yusuf Komunyakaa’s poem, takes the stance that a memorial is for the people who were involved in what’s being memorialized. The speaker has a personal conection to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, as the speaker enters the stone walls he says, “I said I wouldn’t, dammit: no tears.” The speaker reminisces certain moments of the war, which implies that he fought in the Vietnam War himself, “I touch the name Andrew Johnson; I see the booby trap’s white flash.” The speaker is affected personally by all the names, I go down the 58,022 names, half-expecting to find my own in letters like smoke.” Grateful to be alive, the speaker has even taken the time to include the exact number of those who had fallen to express his respect for the dead soldiers. A person who wasn’t in the war may not have cared deeply about those “58,022 names.” At the end of the poem, the speaker notices the other people visiting the memorial. He notices a man who has lost his arm in the war. The author hints this by providing the fact that, “He’s lost his right arm inside the stone.” The veteran looks into the speaker’s eyes as if to recognize that both men had experienced death in a more meaningful way than to an outsider or tourist. In order to clearly contrast a person who was involved in what’s being memorialized and a person who wasn’t there, the speaker then brings his attention to a woman showing disengagement to the memorial as she brushes a boy’s hair. Someone who is brushing a boy’s hair instead of showing respect to the memorial does not have the same concern for the dead as someone who had fought in the war. The woman represents people in society who may have had a family member die I The war, but because they had not experienced war themselves, will never feel the fear of coming close to death in a warfare setting.

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In Yusef Komunyakaa's poem, "Taking It," takes us through his visiting of a Vietnam war memorial, as a Vietnam veteran. The story line takes on the position of a memorial being something for people who were involved in what is memorialized. The poem begins with the veteran first entering the memorial and he is smacked with remembrance of his war stricken past as his "clouded reflection eyes him." Also, through his entrance he is fighting with his promise to gold back tears as he explains "I said I wouldn't. No tears." These to points demonstrate the first encounter of the speaker's personal connection to the monument. Continuing through the exhibit, Komunyakaa travels down the "58,022 names" of those who passed in the war he states that he was "half-way expecting to find" his own letters among those. His experience equates to those of the fallen, yet he remained alive. It is almost shocking to him. The fact that the touch of the name, "Andrew Johnson", brought images of "bobby traps" and a "white flash." These images that arouse from just the touch of a name signifies the tragedy he experienced and the loss of those close to him during his time at war. Additionally, the man sees the flash of a plane across the sky, yet it is unclear if this is a flash back of a Vietnam fighter plane or an actually plane flying over him in the present. The plane some what symbolizes his relationship with the aftermath of the Vietnam war.  Through his visitation of the memorial, he is brought back to the situation he was forced to memorialize.

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In “Facing It” by Yusef Komunyakaa, the plot is a man going to visit the Vietnam Memorial. As he visits this memorial he experiences memories only a war veteran would have. The point of view of this poem is in fact a war veteran who still experiences nightmares of the war. Towards the end of the poem, the speaker mentions him seeing a “booby trap’s white flash” (16) as he read a man’s name. No one else would know a booby traps characteristics unless they were in the war or they watched a graphic documentary of the war. And based on the emotions of this poem, the speaker has probably experienced the war himself. Komunyakaa shows this in the beginning of the poem by saying, “I am stone. I am flesh” (5). By mentioning this, it hints at the fact that he’s part of this Memorial and that people only see him as stone. They don’t truly get a soldiers fear while treading through a thick jungle just waiting for a sniper to come and end your life. People only see those names carved in Stone as names carved in stone and nothing more. Maybe not even human. Yet Komunyakaa shortly states, “I am flesh.” after “I am stone.” as if to remind himself that he is more than just a statistic or a name carved into stone. In line 8, the author says, “I turn this way—the stone lets me go. I turn that way—I’m inside the Vietnam Veterans Memorial...” By trying to forget about his past, it is somewhat successful, but as soon as he is reminded of a small detail it seems as if he dies a little inside. This idea is also supported in line 14, “I go down the 58,022 names, half expecting to find my own in letters like smoke.” The author expects to see himself on that memorial because he believes that he never truly got out of that war alive. Something had to die so he would be able to survive, and it may feel as if your whole being ceases of existence when you kill off that one thing that kept you going. That kept him human, but now he is flesh.