The Art of Interpretation

There are certain basic guidelines to look for in interpreting poetry such as meanings, feelings and richness.  Some created by the poet and some we interpret ourselves.

Three levels of attention are applied when we first look at a poem:

1. Basic level.... Scanning the length, the title, structure/form, name of the poet and the date it was written.
2. Mid-level....  Noticing metaphors, smilies, symbols, rhythm visual or aural 'sounds', imagery, subject, tone, narrative elements, 'I' the speaker, the setting.
3. High-level... Applying the poem in a personal level, how it affects you? What do you experience reading the poem?  How does the form contribute to the content?  Looking for literal or implied meaning.

Please PICK ONE poem from below  (either A, B, C or D)  to write your own interpretation based on the above 3 guidelines in a form of a poem of your choice.

A. The Honey Bear by Eileen Myles (Written in 1995)

Billie Holiday was on the radio
I was standing in the kitchen
smoking my cigarette of this
pack I plan to finish tonight
last night of smoking youth.
I made a cup of this funny
kind of tea I’ve had hanging
around. A little too sweet
an odd mix. My only impulse
was to make it sweeter.
Ivy Anderson was singing
pretty late tonight
in my very bright kitchen.
I’m standing by the tub
feeling a little older
nearly thirty in my very
bright kitchen tonight.
I’m not a bad looking woman
I suppose     O it’s very quiet
in my kitchen tonight        I’m squeezing
this plastic honey bear      a noodle
of honey dripping into the odd sweet
tea. It’s pretty late
Honey bear’s cover was loose
and somehow honey      dripping down
the bear’s face   catching
in the crevices beneath
the bear’s eyes    O very sad and sweet
I’m standing in my kitchen     O honey
I’m staring at the honey bear’s face.

(Some hints: The tea is sweet, but she keeps adding honey to it.
          A tub in the kitchen.  Allusions of two great singers)

B. 'Untitled' by al Maarri  (10th century poet)

Friend, this world is like an unburied corpse,
And we're the dogs barking round it.
If you go in and eat, you're a loser;
If you stay out, and hunger, you gain.
Anyone the night doesn't mug
Gets rolled: Time's disasters at dawn.

(Hints: Smilie 'like an unburied corpse' is followed by metaphor 'dogs barking'.
          There's also a paradox in this poem (two conflicting/contradicting things
           happening)


C. Two Plants by Felix Dennis (written 2004)

Two summer plants grew side by side,
The one grew strong, the other died.

‘Too close,’ I heard a gardener sigh,
‘The yew hedge roots have sucked her dry.

Too late for new to take her place,
The first must shield the empty space.’

Two plants grew in a summer bed,
Then winter came — now both are dead.



D. Neutral Tones by Thomas Hardy (written 1867)

We stood by a pond that winter day,
And the sun was white, as though chidden of God,
And a few leaves lay on the starving sod;
        – They had fallen from an ash, and were gray.

Your eyes on me were as eyes that rove
Over tedious riddles of years ago;
And some words played between us to and fro
        On which lost the more by our love.

The smile on your mouth was the deadest thing
Alive enough to have strength to die;
And a grin of bitterness swept thereby
        Like an ominous bird a-wing….

Since then, keen lessons that love deceives,
And wrings with wrong, have shaped to me
Your face, and the God curst sun, and a tree,
        And a pond edged with grayish leaves.


Rules:
Poems only
No collab
No word limit ( But keep it at a reasonable length)
Title your work
Grammar, spelling checked

the kettle's screaming

Interpretation of The Honey Bear by Eileen Myles

i can hear the agonizing nectar of poppy in her voice
[just like you]
its' bittersweet affliction more succulent than the gardenia that laced her hair

no, no thank you
i don't want your too sweet brew
you're scratching at your arms just like her

me, i claw at my mind waiting for mi brujita
she calls me her papi

her and i have echoed moments bought in cellophane and over rocks
at the Lenox Lounge and the Apollo

same Harlem haunts where trellises of Ivy scaled the walls at the hands of a Duke

you're searching that mirror hoping the lie stays concealed
telling yourself that you're not addicted
that you're not owned

but you are

same as them

same as me

they sang to the darkness
waiting for the waves of love to come lapping over the flood lights

you have only the ripples of your tub
it's troubled waters warmed by the same kettle you make tea in

i have this keypad
i can see my hazed reflection just the same
waiting for someone
anyone
to click "like this?"

when they do
it's never enough
but you already know that

preparing to drown in that tub
with your tea
just like I'll drown in her

let's hope they play Coltrane or Parker next
so we can both sip some more

LSP, thank you for kicking off the comp with this fantastic interpretation.

Looking for more poets who would like to tackle the challenge of interpretation..!

Wish you'd given more choices than these two poems..to write a poem that is an interpretation of another poem is hard enough but when given a choice of two that I personally find uninspiring (to be polite), I find that too daunting a task

I'm glad you left your thoughts Miki, I wasn't sure why this comp didn't take off like I hoped for, cause I thought not only it would be something totally different but also a workshop of some kind to  read and interpret poetry and then transforming it as our own.

When I looked for poems I didn't want to find 'famous' poems since there were so many analyzations on the net, which would've influenced our own.  That's why I went with these two choices, being that they were two different subjects also.

I could extend the comp and add 2 more choices but probably it wouldn't be fair to LSP since he already submitted his entry but I will leave it up to his discretion.

Extended it with other options ... That's fine by me!

Hey Vee, I totally get your logic there but it would be really unethical for people to look up analyses on the net instead of writing their own thoughts, but I see it being the same as the same as plagiarising a poem to enter a comp. I do remember when my professors used to do such things so we couldn't find papers on the net though. Makes me smile lol anyway, sorry to get so off topic_ scatterbrained right now...I wouldn't change the rules or extend based just on my opinion, Lobo did do a great job and I don't know if it would get more interest that way or if its just me..Commendable of lobo to be cool with extending too though! Anyway, thanks for taking my thoughts here into consideration much appreciate you!

Thank you LSP.

Miki, you're right it's not an easy comp to tackle and I will extend the comp by another week with couple more poems tonight.

mikimoondancer said:Wish you'd given more choices than these two poems..to write a poem that is an interpretation of another poem is hard enough but when given a choice of two that I personally find uninspiring (to be polite), I find that too daunting a task

I totally agree with Miki, this is truly a daunting task. When you try to interpret someone else's poems do you classify it as a copycat poem?

NO PAIN, NO GAIN


The city is a concrete jungle
Where rats like us race through its maze
Taking risks in order to live
For what is gain, without pain
Working hard to enjoy life later
Until death knocks at our doors


(Interpretation of 'Untitled' by al Maarri (10th century poet)

A challenge is worth tackling with the best of our ability, (that's why it's called a challenge to push us out of our comfort zone)  Interpretation is an imagination walking in someone else's shoes for a minute and then relating it to our own world and experiences transforming the information we gathered in what we read, to create our own work of art.

Thank you LSP and EngrVV for your wonderful interpretations.

Thank you so much for this challenge and the chance to interpret and lend to what I found to be a very layered piece.  Glad to see PoeticEngr picked up the torch too.

Congrats for the win, LSP...thanks Vee for such a daunting challenge.