I listened to the mp3, and i believe that she uses concrete language to create vivid images of the human effects of war. It is concrete, because it appeals to the senses and gives vivid details about the life in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. It gives us details about how the Vietnam people thought and lived through the war.
"I still remember her eyes drawing the blood like waters, and the rice, there were maggots in [the] rice, no water to flush them out." This is because of the famine that resulted in the US overusing Agent Orange and the like to burn out the Viet Cong.
"When all else fail, attack the water" This is because water is important to the human body. In an undeveloped country like the Vietnam (during that time), fresh, clean, drinking water is hard to get, and so they rely on clean streams. When the water is hit with poison or is gone, morale drops, and the enemies slowly die out.
"Grand Children's ate the spit-flushed rice" This was because their were maggots with the rice, and the Grandmother ate the maggots to give the children more fresh food.
And as the ending goes: "When all else fail, attack the water"
To me his words mean that although he may have been racing against people with more experience, he didn't feel at a disadvantage. He felt as though he was their equal, because age doesn't always matter.
