Poem Interpretation?

Question

Thought this poem I found was nice; could someone give me their thoughts on it? Maybe I'm missing something. (pipe character denotes a line break)

David Ignatow, "I Killed A Fly"

I killed a fly |
and laid my weapon next to it |
as one lays the weapon of a dead hero |
beside his body—the fly |
that tried to mount the window |
to its top; that was born out of a swamp |
to die in a bold effort beyond itself; |
and I am the one who brought it to an end. |
Tired of thr day and with night coming on |
I lay my body down beside the fly. |

I thought it was about trying to better yourself and the humility of failing. Can anyone give maybe more insight into this one? Thanks.

Answer 1

good poem that reflects his persistent questions about life. To get the gist of his concern with these questions, read Shadowing the Ground, link below:

http://www.iblist.com/book15186.htm


enjoy the music as well:

Answer 2

I think your interpretation is good.
It sounds like the speaker felt guilty for killing the fly. Maybe he felt like he'd robbed the fly's chance at heroism b/c he stopped the fly from reaching its goal: climbing the window.
Maybe the fly represents the speaker, and he/she feels like he/she keeps sabotaging any attempt at reaching a goal.