...and in the other corner...komunyakaa

Lately, i seem to welcome reading sessions with yusef's poetry much more in contrast to the spurts that i had throughout dispatches. Last class, we discussed how the poetry, despite its concise format, has a definite direction, containing a beginning, middle and end. Now previous to our recent encounter with Herr, i have never considered continuitiy to be such an important aspect that would so greatly affect a reader's feelings toward a work. I've read stories before where the beginning is in fact more towards the end, but Herr really sent my mind going in circles (and at times a standstill as well). I never thought I could find poetry making more sense to me than a narrative, but in this scenario, the poetry really comes across as an easier task to tackle.
I like how the narrator of most of yusef's poems brings to play the humanistic side of the enemy. The VC exist in a form much greater than bodies, targets, etc. I did like, though, how Herr admitted to the fact that his account would be rather biased. He didn't bother being fluffy about things. In the words of Sau...he was more like "Dude, check it...here's how it was...do what you will with it."
Although I agree with both sides, showing reality in all its aspects, I must say that yusef's work...in a literary perspective is much simpler to read (for some reason, i cant stress this any more).
I suppose I welcome the poems a lot more, not just in respects of the structure, but also because elements within each piece is described much more closely to the stories that I read in my spare time - there's description of place, feelings, imagery really helps me. When i read i must admit to favoring more showing and less telling - there's a english major cliche for you!
I admire how Yusef tends to take something otherwise lifeless, and meld it with nature. I could be reading into things far to much, but a poem that really grabbed my attention was on page 11 "A Greeness Taller Than Gods."
When I read the poem two lines jumped out
"a green snake starts again through deep branches." This could be read just as is, but I saw the snake as the Viet Cong, and the shape of a snake made me picture the tunnels that they used to travel below ground.
"Spiders men webs we marched into" remined me of how in Operation Rolling Thunder (the GRADUAL attack on bridges, bases, etc) the enemy tended to adapt, and make up for the damage done. The action of a spider mending a web was much more to me than an act of nature. Instead this highlighted Yusef's tendency to creat a world that becomes very nature bound. I love it how he does this...then again I could be way in left field, and it wouldn't be the last time this has happened.