Poems are usually a hit and miss for me. Sometimes they’re very simple and easy to understand but sometimes they’re so complex, I can’t understand it no matter how many times I try to read it. Walt Whitman’s “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry” was one of these types of poems. It’s beautifully written and the imagery is amazing but there’s just so much words and images coming at me when I read each of the parts. I couldn’t really relate to Whitman’s writing so just rereading the poem added to my overall confusion. I liked that we “rewrote” part 5 of the poem in class because, while it was a difficult task, it really helped me understand that part of the poem.
Charles Reznikoff’s “On Brooklyn bridge I saw a man drop dead,” was even more confusing than “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry.” While I knew the theme of Whitman’s poem, Reznikoff’s message was, and still is, a mystery to me. Like Anthony brought up in class, why did he mention Diana? Who is Diana? Does the poem actually have anything to do with the man who committed suicide from the Brooklyn Bridge? As I read “On Brooklyn bridge I saw a man drop dead,” I was squinting and furrowing my forehead in an attempt to force myself to understand the poem. I think that’s actually why I am completely at a loss when it comes to poems, I need to have a concrete understanding of something that doesn’t actually have a concrete message.
I like to know what I’m reading about and when I’m reading a poem, it can really be anything. Words have hundreds of meanings in poems and I can only see one or two. I’m amazed when I listen to someone explain what they think a poem is about because it usually is completely different from what I thought it was about. I feel like I can only skim the top of the poem while others dive deep and can gather multiple meanings. If I can reiterate, it’s amazing.
