I have to do a close reading of the poem that is listed below.
Basically I have to “present my information and argue for its persuasiveness by making claims about how the tests language makes meaning and supporting my claim with examples and analysis. I do not even understand what this poem means to begin to answer this. Help would be great!
Here is the poem:
They’re Hypnotic, But
By Jason Bradford
Sometimes I am depressed by jellyfish
floating in aquariums, carelessly
drifting, no brain, bodies like balloons, strings
dangling about, feeling out their niche;
stinging handlers; like siblings, the caress
the curves of their cylinder encasings.
The situation doesn’t confuse me,
the reduction of an ocean to a bathtub,
tracing parameters, hopelessly
expecting change with every touch.
Maybe the pang beneath my ribcage is
connection. What if they had hearts?
What is space was bred into their bodies
but they can’t grasp why the reflection hurts?