Abstract
The article sets out to analyze the manner in which Yusef Komunjakaa addresses in his poetry one of the greatest military disasters in American foreign policy ‒ the war in Vietnam‒, which he himself experienced directly, as a war correspondent. I will investigate the poet’s reliance on strong, visceral images as Komunjakaa proceeded almost like a painter. I will also look into the role played by music, jazz in particular, in articulating a vision of the war which gives ample space to the reader to negotiate the images that engage all five senses. I will illustrate the fact that Komunjakaa’s war poetry is characterized by more than a mere documentary drive, as one can discover healing and renewal of the self behind the apocalyptic images that describe the war.