what do you think this poem means?

Question

I am having trouble trying to understand this poem:

Some things are very dear to me--
Such things as flowers bathed by rain
Or patterns traced upon the sea
Or crocuses where snow has lain . . .
The iridescence of a gem,
The moon's cool opalescent light,
Azaleas and the scent of them,
And honeysuckles in the night.
And many sounds are also dear--
Like winds that sing among the trees
Or crickets calling from the weir
Or Negroes humming melodies.
But dearer far than all surmise
Are sudden tear-drops in your eyes



Can anyone help dissect this meaning?

Answer 1

It's a love poem.

Firstly it pays homage to the beauty that we can find in every day life. It lists very simple things, like how a flower looks after the rain, the smell of night and the sound of the wind.

So we know that the author has a real appreciation for the small and big things that he/she experiences in life, but the point is that nothing is more precious to them than the person they are dedicating the poem to.

While one could say that the author loves to bring tears to their beloved's eyes, I doubt it is that literal. The sort of gentle devotion that this poem declares wouldn't be represented in creating pain.

More likely is that the tear-drops stand for any or an emotional response. I think he/she is speaking of the bond between them, whether it is a familial or romantic love, and how dear that bond is to them.

Answer 2

It is sort of imagism with a tin ear.
All but the last two lines indicate pleasures of the senses including sights, smells and sounds. But the last two lines suggest that more important than any of the raw senses are the indication of emotion on the part of the person being addressed. Tears can be signs of pain, of joy or even of heightened emotion. We can give the poet the benefit of the doubt and assume he meant some kind of affection and that the point of the poem is that love (of you) is more important than the joys of the senses

Answer 3

The author seems to be listing things created by nature that are fragile and etheral in substance. So that when his beloved sheds a tear he is in like fashion transported..... Could be wrong...so I will drop back and hum a melody now.

Answer 4

The list of things "dear to me" is of things in nature which are pleasant to the senses. "Sudden teardrops" refers to the emotional reactions you might have to such stimuli.

The inference is that the things themselves are not as important the feelings that go along with being human.