P.O.L. Poem
Translation
Small red tin box sealed in shrink-wrap, cut open
with pocketknife, pried apart, its goods aerate the
office. I pluck white sliced chalky cylinders; let them
simmer in my mouth. I exhale peppermint scent
through my nose. Cut open the official letter. A map
in letters on a white page. My teeth grind mints.
Photocopies slightly off alignment, I blur lines.
Equations disperse family through land documents,
position each generation. I am only fourth in line.
Some plots are gumbo after winter thaw. Sections
stitched together with extended relatives. This ritual,
personal death papers drafted. I am partial to this
grassland; the place of deer marks and porcupine
quills, ledger extrapolates history. I refold estate
document, place it back into its envelope.




















































Part II
Step One:  Literal Meaning
Start with understanding what the words chosen by the poet mean.  Poets are very selective about the words they choose to use in their work.  Many times words have various connotative and denotative meanings that contribute to the overall meaning of the poem.  Use a dictionary to research any words you may not know and also to look for words that may have multiple meanings.  Also, are there any references to places, historical events, or people?  Research those to get a deeper understanding of the meaning of the poem - how do those references connect to the overall theme of the poem?





Step Two:  Title
Poets are also very careful about the titles for their poems.  Consider:
What information is provided?
What expectations does it create (when you first read the title, what did you think the poem would be about)?
What does the title reveal about the poem?
Does it label the poem as a specific literary type?





Step Three:  Speaker
Consider the voice that you hear in the poem.  Who do you think is the speaker of this poem?  How old do you think they are?  What nationality?  Is the speaker addressing someone in particular, and if so, who?




What is the speaker’s mood?  How do you know?




What do you think is the purpose of the poem?  Is it trying to make a point, win an argument, or move someone to action?  Or is it expressing something without requiring an answer?





Step Four:  Structure
How is the poem organized?  If broken into stanzas or sections, what does each discuss?  Does the format of the poem contribute to its meaning, and if so, how?  If there are no formal breaks in the poem, how would you break it down and why?





Step Five:  Rhythm
Does your poem rhyme?  Is there a definite rhyme scheme?  How does this scheme affect your response to the poem?  Is it humorous?  Monotonous?  Childish like a nursery rhyme?  If you read the poem aloud, do you hear the rhymes?  How does the use of rhyme add to the meaning?



Does the poem use “special effects” to get your attention?  Consider the word choice - some words take time to pronounce and slow the reader down whereas others can hurry the reader along.



Just because the words don’t rhyme, doesn’t mean the poem doesn’t have rhythm.  Read the poem aloud to yourself and listen to where you speed up and slow down in reciting it? How do the words flow together?  Also, heavily stressed or repeated words may provide a clue to the poem’s overall meaning.





Step Six:  Language, Imagery, Symbolism
Where do you find examples of the following and what do they contribute to the poem?  (refer to Poetic Forms and Terms on PoetryOutLoud.org/poetic-terms)
Images
Patterns
Metaphors
Similes
Analogies
Personification
Symbols
Repetition






Step Seven:  Theme
To determine the theme of a poem, you need to examine the poem as a whole and the ways the different parts of the poem interact.  Theme reveals the author’s purpose, what the author is trying to express through the poem.  What is the author’s message?





Step Eight:  Put It All Together
Once steps one through seven have been completed, it’s time to take a step back and consider the poem as a whole.  To do this, you’ll need to synthesize your analysis into one main idea - your idea about what the poet is trying to say in this poem.
What is the poet trying to say?  How forcefully is it being said and with what feeling?  Does the poet gradually lead up to the meaning or is it stated at the beginning?  Which lines bring out the meaning?  The last lines of a poem are usually important as they emphasize or change the meaning of the poem?  Is this the case with your poem?