Consider the works of at least two poets you have studied in which ambiguity has enabled readers
to reach their own conclusions about meaning and implications.
Naomi Shihab Nye creates poetry that is able to capture an audience and peak their interest. She is inspires curiosity by telling stories in pieces, stringing them together by her own experiences and inner thoughts. She gives enough information and detail that her readers can understand the aura and meaning behind her ideas, but does not lay out a story perfectly. Readers have room to use their imaginations about her past and present self. The small moments she gives in detail are just a few pieces in the puzzle of her life and full testimony. When I read Nye's poetry I see each moment she describes as a flash. As I read, I see each stanza as a singular moment, movement, idea, or thought that Nye has experienced. Her writing is personal and real. She is an author who writes with metaphors to bring imagination and creativity into her work. Nye does not try to cover up or protect her hardships with a whimsical or distracting air, but instead uses vocabulary to her advantage to allow the issue she is discussing to be front and center. She works with and around her hardship so that it is the main focus of her piece.
Throughout Nye's work she shows clear small moments, but never gives a full picture or complete background information. Because she writes this way, readers become more drawn in to dissect and depict each word choice, as if there are clues to her life hidden in the structure of her work. It is easy to get pulled into a curious state, hoping for more clues about her past. Nye causes readers to use their imagination and search for more. A good example of this is in her poem The Words Under the Words. In this poem Nye speaks of her grandmother, introducing readers to who she is and what she represents to her. In this poem it is difficult to tell how close Nye is to her grandmother, but readers can easily understand that she cares deeply for her wisdom. There are certain aspects of this poem that can be easily received by readers, such as the fact that her grandmother is very caring. Nye depicts this through describing her grandmother's concerns in life, as well as how she spends her time. When Nye writes "She knows the spaces we travel through, the messages we cannot send - our voices are short and would get lost on the journey," it causes readers to think about how her grandmother lives, and how she treats relationships. When I read this, I initially thought that Nye was trying to say that her grandmother does not take all of her relationships seriously because she knows they will end. That was my thought process while quickly reading the poem for the overall picture. I soon learned that her writing requires complete attention and focus to fully grasp the ideas and purpose. I now see that part of the poem as another way that Nye views her Grandmother as knowledgable and wise. After reading the poem a few times I came to my own conclusion that Nye did not get to be with her grandmother often, but she was inspired by her older wisdom and simple yet strong ideals. I was able to pick this idea up by really dissecting the way that Nye writes. Even though Nye describes specific moments with her grandmother, when she speaks of her singularly, it is always in a vast way.
My Grandmother in the Stars is another one of Nye's poems that discusses her grandmother and their relationship. This poem is much different than The Words Under the Words, but there is a strong connection between the two pieces. I feel that each poem helps readers to piece together who Nye's grandmother was, since they each describe and depict different aspects of her. While reading My Grandmother in the Stars I saw how strongly sentimental Nye is towards her grandmother. This poem solidified my thoughts that Nye and her grandmother are far apart. I get a sense that she sees strength in her grandmother because of the amount of wisdom in years she possesses. When Nye writes, "Just now the neighbor’s horse must be standing patiently, hoof on stone, waiting for his day to open. What you think of him, and the village’s one heroic cow, is the knowledge I wish to gather." I think about how vague yet specific those lines are. Nye does not explain in detail why she wishes to gather that specific part of her grandmother's knowledge, but as I reader I can piece together what the reasoning is based on the author's word choice. With parts of Nye's writing like this quote, I like to think that maybe she wants her ideas to be vague, but only so that they can be thought about in depth and be questioned by her audience. If readers think closely and carefully about what Nye is saying, they can use their imagination to come up with conclusions that make sense to the context of her ideas.
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