A poem is a series of words, emotions, and ideas, tightly crafted and put together in an order that complements those words, emotions, and ideas, but that also leaves room for multiple interpretations, all of which are correct. That's the glory of poetry (and most writing, actually), that it lends itself to many interpretations depending on the history of each and every reader. I love to read reactions to my poetry, and to plumb the depths of the myriad definitions that surround each one that come from each individual reader. In fact, poetry writing, to me, has become an exchange between me and each person who reads my poems. I can almost hear the conversation as I'm writing, and that makes me smile.