The only colors that appear in the poem are red white and black, which could be taken as a somewhat morosely tongue in cheek reference to the colors of the American flag. Not to say that that sort of language is anti-American, or that the poem itself has this intent---but it hints at an element, a shade of the issue if you will, that is not captured except in the minds of veterans and survivors.
In "Facing It" the speaker is so wholly absorbed by the memorial, they describe the entire experience as though they were the stone itself. Taking the language as purely figurative, the last few lines become all the more powerful. The speaker displays such an intensity and impassioned focus, that when he notices the woman, he sees her hand moving and decides she must be fruitlessly scratching at a name on the wall. The speaker at first glance, is given to assume that other onlookers at the memorial are as totally captivated. Instead, the speakers decides that no, it was a far more innocent gesture between a mother and son.
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