andrewjthomas28 Jan 2004

i agree that a poem should not be so obtuse that you can't figure out what it's trying to say
however, i also think a good piece doesn't need an explanatory note, that everything you need to get is in the poem itself
however, even with everything in the poem, it shouldn't be completely spelled out for the reader, no hand holding
i just find it more rewarding as a reader if i discover the meaning rather than being told the meaning
of course, this is just my opinion, and when make something as subjective as an opinion about something as equally subjective in definition as poetry, it's bound to be wrong to more than a few people
and i certainly don't claim to be any expert
sorry if i'm being too critical here, you can feel free to tell me to shut up whenever