Facing It

Facing It

In the poem Facing It this man comes to realize that it is not just a wall that he has come to face. At the start of this poem the speaker has to stop himself from crying. This shows the reader that the speaker is very emotional of this experience. He acts as if he is surprised that he has such strong emotions about this wall. This experience brings back all kinds of memories about the time in his life when he was among these men. The speaker says "I am stone. I am flesh". This refers to him feeling as though he is a part of this memorial and these names are not only names. These names represent the lives of these men and how they were no different from him. Later in the poem the speaker goes on to even say "I am inside the Vietnam veterans memorial again". This to me refers again to him feeling as though these men are a part of him as he is a part of them. Also it seems as if he tries to put himself in their place and wonders why not him. The speaker then states that there are 58,022 names on this wall and this reinforces the idea of this being a very serious matter, especially when he was a part of this. We ask the question "What is Ð''it' that the speaker is facing?" In this instance I believe that Ð''it' is everything from his past and his war experiences. These experiences are something that he wishes he could never confront. Although he must confront or face this or that would not be fair to the men on this wall. The later part of this poem confirms my assumption of him remembering things that he thought he had forgotten. This experience turns the scene of Washington D.C. into a hot, sweaty jungle and the sounds of war came rushing back and, as quick as that flashback came on it was gone. This man realizes he is fine and a thought comes to him, "I am a window" he says. This appears to be a since of satisfaction or of relief, as if