by: Yusef Komunyakaa
He danced with tall grass
for a moment, like he was swaying
with a woman. Our gun barrels
glowed white-hot.
When I got to him,
a blue halo
of flies had already claimed him.
I pulled the crumbed photograph
from his fingers.
There's no other way
to say this: I fell in love.
The morning cleared again,
except for a distant mortar
& somewhere choppers taking off.
I slid the wallet into his pocket
& turned him over, so he wouldn't be
kissing the ground.
We Never Know
ReplyDeleteby: Yusef Komunyakaa
"He danced with tall grass
for a moment, like he was swaying
with a woman."
At first I didn't realize this poem was about war. At least that's what I think it's about. The end really confused me and made me re-read it, that's when I understood what it was about. "I slid the wallet into his pocket, & I turned him over, so he wouldn't be kissing the ground." Whoever is speaking, turned the dead body over so he wouldn't be facing the ground. The imagery is intense and I can really see what's going on in this poem. Overall, it's interesting and I like it. It makes me think.
My favorite line in this poem is
ReplyDelete"He danced with tall grass
for a moment, like he was swaying
with a woman. Our gun barrels
glowed white-hot". I just like how the flow of the poem is , im not to sure what its about but i do know it has to do with death and someone loving someone who they had killed or found dead. The poem to me is interesting just because it has death in it , thats the only reason it keeped me interested.Overall i dont think this poem was to immensely deep but i do think it was and okay poem so i can say i liked it.
In response to this poem, I think that it gives off the idea that dying in war is not as glorious as every makes it out to be. "When I got to him, a blue halo of flies already claimed him." Do this sound glorious to anyone?
ReplyDeleteIt's clear that the author had some sentiment towards the dead man. And it's sad that the man had to be turned over so he wouldn't be kissing the earth.
The poem is intriguing because it isn't only about the obvious intensity and devistation of war, but the sentimental side of the someone who is affected by the death of a dead soldier.
We Never Know
ReplyDeleteby: Yusef Komunyakaa
" I slid the wallet into his pocket
& turned him over, so he wouldn't be
kissing the ground."
Most of the time I don't understand a poem the first time I read it which will cause me to read it a second time, so I did. Immediately I got the jist of the situation. Once I read the line, "Our gun barrels glowed white-hot. When I got to him, a blue halo of flies had already claimed him", right away I knew the poem was about a soldier who had just shot and killed a man. The poem made perfect sense to me expect the part where the author wrote "There's no other way to say this: I fell in love." I would need somebody to explain that part to me, lol. The line I chose explains how after the soldier kills the guy he feels the least he can do is turn the dead body over so his face wouldn't be buried in dirt. I like this poem it's so deep. .-.
My favorite line in this poem is "I slid the wallet into his pocket
ReplyDelete& turned him over, so he wouldn't be
kissing the ground." when i read this poem i had to read it a couple of times. I came to the conclusion that this poem is occuring during a war. the narrator of this poem is on the opposing team of the man hes talking about.
In the beginning of the poem the man is trying to hide behing trees. . . but he failed to save himself. When the narrator reached him, the man had a photograph in his hands, im assuming of his family or something. The narrator then put the picture back in his hands, so that he would still have it with him, and he wanted to leave the man with some pride, so he flipped him over so hes not facing the dirt.
"There's no way to say this: I fell in love."
ReplyDelete"... & turned him over so he wouldnt be kissing the ground."
I never thought this poem was about war because of the first line "He danced with tall grass for a moment, like he was swaying with a women." Then after that line i got the understanding that it began to do with war. And it really struck my heart when i read "There's no way to say this:i fell in love" and then at the end with get the news that he died... If this ever happened to anyone, where they finally get the realization that they love someone to then find them kissing the ground because they are now decease, my be heartbreaking and tramatizing. We dont realize that the we dont get to tell the people we love that we love them before its to late..
"He danced with tall grass
ReplyDeletefor a moment, like he was swaying
with a woman."
I like this poem because I can see everything that is happening in my head like it is a movie. The way that it describes the way that the guy falls after being shot. He fell to his knees and swayed back and forth slowly like dancing with someone. He fell to the floor with his face down and when the person writing the poem found him he had a picture of his family in his hand and that is beautiful.
After reading this poem like 7 times I noticed that i had to do with war. The person that died was killed by the narrator. He was probably a prisoner of war. One thing I still don't understand is what the narrator fell inlove with. But the imagery he used like the dancing grass and the swarm of flies made things clear and visible.
ReplyDeleteWe Never Know
ReplyDeleteBy: Yusef Komunyakaa
"He danced with tall grass for a moment."
I liked this poem because it has very good imagary. And I feel like a lot of people who have been in the service can relate to this poem. That's what makes a good poem, a poem someone could relate to.