What does this poem mean?

Question

I don't get what it's about at all. Maybe it has no definite meaning, but I would like your opinions on it. It's called Ghost of a Chance by Adrienne Rich:

You see a man
trying to think.

You want to say
to everything:
Keep off! Give him room!
But you only watch,
terrified
the old consolations
will get him at last
like a fish
half-dead from flopping
and almost crawling
across the shingle
almost breathing
the raw, agonizing
air
till a wave
pulls it back blind into the triumphant
sea.

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

Poems are open to interpretation - everyone reads something different.

But I see it as describing the society we live in and how everyone is taught to think the same and aspire to the same thing.

Then when a man tries to think (just like a fish trying to live on the land) differently, the writer wants to stop everything from bothering him - "Give him room!" - but the writer is terrified of standing out, of being different.

"the old consolations" refer to the things people say in order to get others to conform to societies standards.

The plight of the fish on the shingle represents the struggle of someone who does not fit into the norm; who cannot breathe the air.

The sea is triumphant because it has brought the rebel back into it's ranks.

That's how I see it, anyway.

Asker's Rating:

Asker's Comment:

Never had such a perfect answer. :)

Answer 2

to me that dosent sound like a poem...it just sounds like ramblings.

Answer 3

What I understood, its about the freedom to think. Like, you try to understand something/ a concept,idea, etc/ but you are not allowed to. You are the fish that is dying and the world we live in is the sea that takes us back, not allowing us to think freely. Those who are willing to change things around, who think outside the box are "killed" and taken back.

Answer 4

I think in this poem, the man the poet is referring to is Adrienne herself. (Let's just ignore the gender difference for a moment.)
--------------------------------------…
You see a man trying to think
( I'm trying to think)

You want to say to everything: keep off, give him room
( I want to be left alone in complete silence)

But you only watch terrified the old consolations will get him at last like a fish.

(But I only feel exhausted from this pressure to think)

Half-dead from flopping and almost crawling, across the shintle almost breathing, the raw, agonizing air

(I feel tired and beaten)

till a wave pulls it back blind into the triumphant sea.

(And I'm back into the not-thinking, numb, dumb mode again.)