Ignatow

Poetry is the art of expressing oneself and allowing their feelings to flood onto a piece of paper. However, the way that reader chooses to interpret and recite a certain poem is entirely determined by personal preference. Reciting a poem, though not easy, rather meticulous, is a journey all in itself that presents struggles as well as surprises. In the poem, I Close My Eyes by David Ignatow, appears easy and empty at first but with research and time, each word has a meaning of its own. Often times, choosing a poem is a struggle for me because I am an extremely literal person rather than being abstract, but through time and preparation, the recitation of Ignatow’s poem has been perfected through the journey I have taken. At first, I felt as if the meaning was missing in Ignatow’s poem and was struggling to come to a conclusion on the hidden meaning in the text. Ignatow was
For example, in my poem, the line “I do all thing required of me to make me a citizen of sterling worth” is showing the speaker’s efforts to strive for a normal life where he is respected. The speaker does all that is asked of him “for goodness sake” in order to have, or at least attempt, a normal life of an ordinary citizen. Another phrase in the poem is when the speaker ends a phrase “…to give my family a sense of order.” This phrase is significant because it expresses the speaker’s desire to have a structured life where it is not hectic and filled with details out of the ordinary like not having a job or having an unbalanced checking account. Another phrase is in the first stanza is the last line where the speaker says, “as I was told, and look forward to tomorrow.” This is yet another example of the speaker trying to express that he does everything correctly and for the sake of being