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serenaac's review against another edition
5.0
Yusef Komunyakaa‘s Dien Cai Dau is another collection of Vietnam War poetry. The poet, who received the Bronze Star and edited The Southern Cross, dedicates this book to his brother Glenn, “who saw The Nam before” Komunyakaa did. His poems put the reader in the soldiers’ shoes, allowing them to camouflage themselves and skulk around the jungles of Vietnam from the very first lines of “Camouflaging the Chimera.” Beyond skulking in the jungle, hunting the Viet Cong, Komunyakaa discusses the weight of war as soldiers trudge through the landscape with their equipment and what they’ve done and seen. Weaving through the tunnels looking for the enemy or searching the thick forest, soldiers are constantly reminded of their emotional and physical burdens, though they find joy in some of the smallest moments.
One of the beautiful aspects of Komunyakaa’s poetry is his vivid sense of how even the most beautiful elements of nature have a darker side. In “Somewhere Near Phu Bai,” Komunyakaa writes “The moon cuts through/the night trees like a circular saw/white hot. . . .” and in “Starlight Scope Myopia,” he suggests, “Viet Cong/move under our eyelids,/lords over loneliness/winding like coral vine through/sandalwood & lotus/.”
Read the review: http://savvyverseandwit.com/2010/07/dien-cai-dau-by-yusef-komunyakaa.html
One of the beautiful aspects of Komunyakaa’s poetry is his vivid sense of how even the most beautiful elements of nature have a darker side. In “Somewhere Near Phu Bai,” Komunyakaa writes “The moon cuts through/the night trees like a circular saw/white hot. . . .” and in “Starlight Scope Myopia,” he suggests, “Viet Cong/move under our eyelids,/lords over loneliness/winding like coral vine through/sandalwood & lotus/.”
Read the review: http://savvyverseandwit.com/2010/07/dien-cai-dau-by-yusef-komunyakaa.html
kelseywort's review against another edition
4.0
There were certain lines in this collection that absolutely stopped me in my tracks in such a surprising way. Wow.
robk's review against another edition
4.0
I have always liked Komunyakaa's poetry. It's smooth, natural, and profound. I love reading his poems because you think you're reading something real simple, then you get hit with something that rocks you to your core. I don't know much about the Vietnam War, but reading this has made me want to learn more.
sidrajaved's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.5
Maybe I am a little biased towards poetry but god, this was so good. I've read Pleasure Dome so I've read this collection already but it was different coming back to this. I don't think I've read a lot of war poetry but Komunyakaa manages to evoke extremely sorrowful feelings. I love how 'camouflaging the chimera' is the first poem in this collection & it just makes you feel as if you're one of them.
unaware our shadows have untied
from us, wandered off
& gotten lost.
The moon cuts through
night trees like a circular saw
white hot.
loving the weight of the shotgun
that will someday dig his grave.
unaware our shadows have untied
from us, wandered off
& gotten lost.
The moon cuts through
night trees like a circular saw
white hot.
loving the weight of the shotgun
that will someday dig his grave.
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