"Skunk Hour:" A Reflection on a Poem Once Throught to Stink

Indeed, when I first read "Skunk Hour" I hated it. Admitedly, I didn't understand it, nor cared to understand it (This is one of my biggest faults when reading poetry. I have a hard time understanding the poet's meaning, and get frustrated when I can't, and soon give up.). Upon re-reading it and reflecting on it in class, however, I count the poem as one of my most favorite we have read this semester. I love the dark, moody feel of the town being deserted. Everything seems so lonely and quiet, and the speaker can do nothing about it. A little eerie perhaps, but the goosebumps it gives me back me want more of the poem. The detail the poem provides not only sets the stage, but gives the reader clues as to the nature of the speaker. He is slightly depressed, choosing to dwell on the negative and the lonely aspects of the tiny sea-side town he dwells in. If a reader is in the right mood, this poem can strike a perfect chord in their poetic minds, and the beauty of the poem as well as its meaning will shine through.