First Impression
“The spot where vanity once punched him hard and the ache lingered on” is a verse in the poem, Tattoo written by Ted Kooser that perplexed me. It threw me off track, as to what the real meaning and lesson that the author was trying to express in this poem and teach the reader. This poem contextualizes Ted Kooser’s idea of time passing in realistic fictional verses.
My Process My first look over the poem I did not understand the true meaning of these sonnets. After rereading and reflecting on the word “vanity” in the 5th verse of this poem, I grew to have a better understanding of the real meaning of the story the author was trying to provide to the reader. After coming to the realization of what I thought was the meaning of the poem, I felt like I was going in the wrong direction of what the author wanted to convey through his words. I kept going through the poem with my eyes being like the light off of a lighthouse and the words of the poem like ships, but I could not dig up the real treasure this poem had to give to the reader. I ended up taking a brain break from reading the poem, and after revisiting the lyrics, I came
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The once young, strong man has become a faded memory and he now is a shell of the man he used to be. I envision this man as an adventurous biker that could hold his own, but grew to be an old man doing a routine stop at a yard sale. I can see him reflecting on memories of scuffles and late nights with the men he used to call family. Now he grazes the yard for tools and old Harley shirts. He reminisces about working on his bike in the old shop, where his buddies would socialize through the night. After the young years of his life, he wears the tattoo like a battle scar to remind him of the days he was his true self. Without the tattoo, you would lose sight of the original soul that lives in the old shell of