Yusef Komunyakaa and Brian Turner were veterans of two very different wars, however, their poems shared similar themes (and sentiments) of sadness, fear, and horror. For example, both Komenyaka’s “Facing It” and Turner’s “The Hurt Locker” convey to the readers the intense and raw feelings of the emotional grief that the two felt when Komenyaka visited the Vietnam War memorial and when Turner talks about being “placed in the hurt locker,” respectively. Komunyakaa’s “Camouflaging the Chimera” and Turner’s “2000 lbs.” uses surrealism to immerse the readers into the events of a preparation of an ambush on the Viet Cong and the horrific scene following a suicide bombing in Ashur Square, respectively. Again, both poems express the fear and horror of wars. War, in a sense, has changed drastically since the Vietnam War. For example, there have been many technological advances with regards to military equipment that allowed more deadly and accurately methods of killing, news media are not allowed to stream footage of war on TV, or the fact that modern day wars have been heavily fought with unconventional methods as opposed to the conventional methods that pre-dated the Vietnam War. On the other hand, war, in a different sense, hasn’t changed at all because it always brings about both physical and/or psychological damage to soldiers and civilians involved in the war. I also found it interesting that Komunyakaa and Turner do not express war with glory, but rather with gory as many of the others books we have read in class. The fact that both poems are about two very different wars but converge on similar themes reinforces the message that war in its entirety is a destructive, violent, and traumatic event.
Awesome blog Paul! I definitely agree with you that even though these poems may be about two different wars but have a similar message is really interesting. The major theme of this fear and horror of the war is important because it shows that the war has brought upon some serious psychological affects on both Turner and Komunyakaa. “Facing It” and “The Hurt Locker” were definitely two poems that really gave the readers a real sense of the grief and pain felt when Komunyakaa visited the Vietnam Memorial and Turner was in the hurt locker.
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