1

Intertextuality Reflection

Facing It by Yusuf Komunyakaa and Kissing Vietnamese by Ocean Vuong share intricate

stories of the aftermath of war. They share perspectives from an American soldier and a Vietnam

Citizen, and dive into both their own trauma and the trauma their loved ones face. Though they

are two completely different poems, they share more connections than differences. In the end, the

true meaning of the poems combine into one idea; that trauma is trauma, and people experience

grief from both sides of war, no matter who won or lost. Through this idea, the poems were able

to change my perspective on war itself.

In Facing It, the perspective is that of an American soldier visiting the Vietnam War

Memorial. He struggles with PTSD, and reflects upon the war and those visiting the memorial in

a shared grief. In Kissing Vietnamese, the perspective is that of a Vietnamese citizen who reflects

upon their grandmother. She faced life through destruction and then came out of it with the fear

that her surviving loved ones could be taken away from her. In both these poems, the people

involved with the war struggle with the aftermath of it. If I had no knowledge of what this war

was or who was crowned victor, I would not be able to name any of the conflicts. In both poems,

they never say who fought who, the characters never hate someone else, they do not blame

another nation, they do not want revenge or vengeance. They do not speak of the war as a whole,

only moments that stuck with them. The fight they both faced left them with the same grief and

depression, and when the war is over, those feelings are all they are left with.

These poems changed my perspective of war, for now I picture individual people, and not

the overall conflict. The cause of the war matters, but it is more important to understand those
 2

affected by the destruction. From these poems I have learned that, no matter the side of the war

someone is from, death leaves behind the same damage.