Yusef Komunyakaa Poem Analysis

Wojahan starts off his review by praising Yusef Komunyakaa as one of our period's most significant and individual voices. He goes on to note that along with the realese of Pleasure Dome: New and Collected Poems Komunyakaa was also able to publish a book-length sequence entitled Talking Dirty to the Gods and how this simultaneous release is a true testament to how well respected Komunyakaas’ work is. Wojahan obviously holds Komunyakaas’ work in high regard himself stating that “In reading almost six hundred pages of his work, both his new poems and a substantial selection of previously uncollected material, I was struck by how self-effacing a writer he is, even as he confronts subjects of large historical import such as the Vietnam War and
The mood of this poem is on a sadness mixed with regret and panic. He uses a lot of imagery to pull the reader into his memory. Some of this imagery is showcased on in lines 12 and 26 where he writes “Mistakes piled up men like clouds” and “Ambush. Gutsmoke.” These lines are also a good example of the sort of choppy wording that gives his poems such a heavy and panicked feel. The event he is describing is the death of a man named Henry. The poem opens with his asking for forgiveness and throughout the poem Komunyakaa describes how he wishes he could go back and not give orders for Henry to move from the tree line. To tell him it wasn’t safe and maybe save his life. The memory of this moment seems to haunt him. In lines 27 and 28 he states “Last night while making love I cried out, Hit the dirt!” suggesting that the memory follows him and he is unable to keep it at bay in his mind. That is surfaces whenever it wants to. This poem seems to mirror many other veterans’ expectances and is one of the reasons Komunyakaa is so relatable and has gained so much of his popularity.
Part Five: Toys in a Field By Yusef Komunyakaa Toys in a field seems to start out with Komunyakaa describing children as they play in the fields of Vietnam in a grave yard of broken military equipment. He writes “Using the gun
The video then starts to play and Komunyakaas voice comes on the speaker. He starts out by explaining how it took him 14 year to be able to start writing about his experiences in Vietnam. A statement that I think gives his poems even more weight and emotion. As he starts reading “Facing It” he is looking down at his words with great focus, never looking up. His voice is very smooth and deep, his annunciation is spectacular. Watching him you can tell that he takes his work very seriously and that it means a great deal to him. Watching him speak definitely helps add an understanding to his work that you may not be able to achieve just by reading alone. He definitely accentuates words differently then how you might while reading his work on your own and it definitely makes a difference in how the poem is interoperated. Watching this video Komunyakaa also seems more humble the he sometimes comes across in written