Yusef Komunyakaa's "Facing It," the Essay

" To erase names would be to forget those who lost their lives in the war. Such clouded imagery pervades the poem. The words "fades," "clouded," and "floats" all connote the ghostlike presence of dead veterans at the memorial. Their names are engraved as if on a tombstone. In fact, the woman the narrator sees actually brushes her boy's hair. Bringing her young boy suggests that the memory of the fallen soldiers will indeed live on, as those names will echo throughout time.

"Facing it" has a tone as heavy as the stone on which the Vietnam Veterans' names are inscribed.The narrator struggles, deeply conflicted and disturbed as his finger finds one of his friends or family members. Naming "Andrew Johnson" brings that ghost to life, and the narrator does use the word "flash" twice as well as the word "light" to indicate the absolution felt simply from paying respect to the dead. Thus, the narrator remains deeply respectful and reverential as he "faces….....