Initial reflection 3/11/20

When I read through Yusef’s poems, I felt as though there was a realist and pessimistic voice narrating it. His words seem to not be scared of the harsh realities of life and what life truly is. It was not until afterwards that I read that he was in the Vietnam War. I made the connection pretty quickly after that and understand where his words were coming from. I am quite familiar with the Vietnam War, or rather how people who were apart of it were molded by it. With an experience like that, it changes a person forever and changes their world around them entirely. My grandfather was in the Vietnam war and also went to college with the GI bill. His experience at Vietnam and all that he had seen had made him become nothing but a realist about life. After experiencing and participating in matters he never thought he would be, it changed him forever and cut out all “fluff” in life. Everything became cut to the chase for him from that point on. He cusses like a sailor, says the truth, and does not take crap from anyone. I am grateful to have someone in my life who can show me the way that an experience as such shapes a human being and because of that I have a deep understanding of Yusef’s words and why he chooses to write the way he does.