Pondering...

I was intrigued by a poem we read in class on Thursday. Our class discussion about Dorothy Parker's piece 'One Perfect Rose' seemed to propose an interesting dilemma. Students had conflicting ideas regarding what was the narrator's true desire. For example, I was convinced that the speaker was sharing her enjoyment when she receives roses and feels that materialistic gifts are not pure. Her descriptive language had a positive, upbeat feel with words like 'tenderly his messenger,' 'deep-hearted, pure' and 'love long.' Only in the last stanza does any disappointment appear, and even then, she seemed to be speaking for the audience who can't understand why she would want a rose, and not for herself. However, after the class shared their takes on the poem, I saw the other view of the narrator's desire for more expensive, permanent gifts. This brings up an important aspect of poetry. That is, its ability to be interpreted in many ways. A poet writes with a purpose, but I believe words can be used and read in different meanings. When writing, one can keep this in mind and use it to create poems with multiple purposes and meanings. One can add depth and allow for greater discussions when one writes with a slight bit of ambiguousness, and openness.