The Poet

             One of the few poems I have had a difficult time grasping, is "The Poet" by Tom Wayman, it truly confuses me because I am not sure what the author is getting at. It basically lists a way to test for the 'Detection of Learning Disabilities' as stated above the work. The author does nothing to explain however, what it is that he is writing about. Whether it is to get a point across or if he is simply just listing this checklist of things to aid in the detection of learning disabilities.

                I feel that it is a safe assumption that the author of this poem, is either writing about himself or even perhaps another poet that he knows. The checklist he is going over are how society set the levels and standards for him as a human, whether it is him acknowledging the fact that he is different or has a friend who may be viewed different by the rest of the population. Eventually it states that this person "Cannot handle 'yes-no' questions" (Wayman 6), but maybe whoever it is that he is talking about can easily understand and comprehend calculus and quantum physics. Maybe this person is extremely complex but society as a whole will never take them seriously. Because whenever a person is thought of to have a learning disability, they are usually thought of as helpless and needing constant care provided for them.

                Or perhaps this poem could be talking about poets in general, who don't always give the exact clear answer people are looking for. Poets write poems that are written like riddles most of the time and don’t actually mean what they say, and can have several different interpretations, poets may not always like answering a simple 'yes-no' question.

                This poem could perhaps even describe a person using the right side of the brain, the side which uses a more creative approach. One that isn't focused too much on exact meaning. While the left side of the brain is the more analytical side, the one that uses exact and precise meanings and measurements, the side that is writing about the person the author is talking about. The side that is describing the right side, and saying that it is not quite up to societies standards of intelligence, even though they may be more intellectual than the people setting these 'learning disabilities' for them.

                Throughout this poem, I was able to get an idea of who it was describing, but since the author really says nothing else in the poem besides the what the checklist states, it was hard for me to grasp the reason for him to write this. But now that I have thought more in depth about it, it seems to make more sense to me then when I first read it. However my interpretation of this is probably completely different than what yours may be. I usually do not enjoy reading or writing about poetry, but coming to terms with what this poet is writing about, in my mind at least, is very enlightening and I enjoyed it.