Poetry Reponse #7

In the poem “Unveiling” by Linda Pastan, the narrator is walking through a cemetery where all of her family is buried. Their graves are in rows, which reminds the narrator of how “they used to sit around the long planked table at family dinners”. In addition, the narrator feels left out instead of feeling sad. It seems that most of her family is dead and she is the only one left. She feels like they are keeping a “grown-up secret” from her, as she is not old enough, or not ready to understand it. I believe the secret is death and it is something she cannot grasp yet since it is not her time.

I think this poem could be interpreted in two ways. One way is that the narrator is very lonely and misses her family. She feels left out. The other interpretation is that she believes that people should live their lives to the fullest. She walks through the cemetery and remembers about the past and her family. She remembered the good times that made her happy.

Compared to the other poems I have read and commented on this semester, this poem seems the most simply written. There are not that many metaphors or other literary devices. It is only made up of two straightforward sentences. It is very easy to understand and to extract the meaning of it. The meaning behind it is simple: live life to the fullest.