Facing. It

Facing It by Yusef Kommunyakaa is a poem based on a personal experience of an African American veteran who visits the vietnam memorial. For him the memorial is not just a tribute, it is actually a reminder of the pain and suffering that was endured. While some may visit the memorial and  pay homage, "Names shimmer on a woman's blouse but when she walks away the names stay on the wall." Yusef looks at the names on wall as memories. He has flashbacks of the time spent with these people for example "Andrew Johnson". The 58,022 reference draws attention to the reality and magnitude of the loss of the men that were killed. His inability to accept  this reality remains present especially when he expects his name to be present. "half-expecting to find my own in letters like smoke."

Honoring those who fought in the war sacrificing their lives for freedom. Whether the roles be big or small. This poem beautifully embraces the pain and real honesty of war and the affects it has on its participants. 

The. Red. Wheelbarrow.

The Red Wheelbarrow by William Carlos Williams

so much depends
upon

a red wheel
barrow

glazed with rain
water

beside the white
chickens.


The Red Wheel Barrow by William Carlos Williams is about the importance of a red wheel barrow that is glazed with water beside a chicken coup. There seems to be an underlined meaning of poverty in the poem. On the farm a wheel barrow is used for a number of farm chores.
The poem is set in a certain rhythm and is stressed on syllables. The poem is extremly descriptive, using color as well as imagery to personify objects. The color red and white seemlessly blends into the poem but jump right at you. The use of the word glazed depicts a thin shiny coating of water on the overturned wheel barrow. The colors stand out because of their contrast with one another: the white chickens contrast with the red of the wheelbarrow. The wheelbarrow can be seen as important economically, It adds beauty to its surroundings.

Fish resembling Life?

In life we encounter struggles, some small or some big that remind us how strong one can truly be. “The Fish” by Elizabeth Bishop is a poem where the main character a fisherman catches a truly tremendous fish. Tremendous one would say because as the poem progresses, the said fish evolves into more than itself, it takes a life of its own depicting mankind as well as nature.

A fighter is often defined as a person who fights or resists, or a person with will, courage, determination. In this poem the fish has been through many hard trial and tribulations despite being worn and weary. The determinations and strive to keep fighting is a reminder for us all that this life is not easy as we all think it should be. You have to fight and fight hard to achieve.

There isn't always a happy ending at the end of the hypothetical "rainbow" but what would life be without challenge, and who would you be without the guts to fight for what you want?