Yusef Komunyakaa - Facing It lyrics

My black face fades, Hiding inside the black granite. I said I wouldn't, Dammit: No tears. I'm stone. I'm flesh. My clouded reflection eyes me Like a bird of prey, the profile of night Slanted against morning. I turn This way--the stone lets me go. I turn that way--I'm inside The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Again, depending on the light To make a difference. I go down the 58,022 names, Half-expecting to find My own in letters like smoke. I touch the name Andrew Johnson; I see the b**by trap's white flash. Names shimmer on a woman's blouse But when she walks away The names stay on the wall. Brushstrokes flash, a red bird's Wings cutting across my stare. The sky. A plane in the sky. A white vet's image floats Closer to me, then his pale eyes Look through mine. I'm a window. He's lost his right arm Inside the stone. In the black mirror A woman's trying to erase names: No, she's brushing a boy's hair.