It is open to many interpretations, as it should be; when we submit our work we relinquish ownership, it belongs to the reader.

The one line that jars and befuddles me is the line
"a tooth in them single."
The tooth, a single tooth, does not seem to contribute to the overall tone. The title too is hard to fathom. The French 'L'idée fixe' is fair enough. '(L) Idee Fixee' feels gratuitous. Feel free to illuminate me... or not.

A singularly effective work.

I hope you don't mind me doing a reading on SoundCloud. If you like it I can link it to Facebook. Would you prefer your real name to Fink555?
https://soundcloud.com/neopoet/l-idee-fixee

Like most abstract art, we are not asked to understand the subject, just receive the painting as expression of an inner reality of color and composition. I do not "understand" this poem but I really appreciate the charged imagery and words. I have learned that if I don't "understand" a poem that I have enjoyed reading that it's ok, it's not my fault or lack of sophistication, the poet just either failed to give me enough clues to sense its inner logic, or keeping it enigmatic may be all the poet intended. That happens a lot when I'm reading Stevens, for example. On the other hand, I don't believe poetry has to be a crossword puzzle, like trying to read Pound, in which you need to refer to an encyclopedia for every line...You are obviously a poet with a mature muse. I just wish I had some other clues so I could better comprehend the poem, even if it's in a poetical rhetorical way.

One criticism: I think it's VERY important to read and re-read your work before publishing and be sure there are no mistakes like truth/tooth, which set me in a totally wrong direction for a while.
Every word counts!

This makes me a little sad about the depth of my own poetry and influences.
It's a long road.
Jx

I've been reading a lot of Plato recently, especially interesting in these times of our wounded republic. Love the whole cave thing, and the reincarnation too. But Plato was very hard on the Poet and Poetry as a seer, which is the subject of many a PhD thesis. I can't see the connection.

I said, which you seemed to have missed, is that I liked your poem despite the fact that i did not understand it. I think I would have liked it more if it was more approachable.
I am a poet who has the reader in mind when I write..I'm writing both for myself and the "other". I do not believe everything needs to be explained, but I do believe in an inner logic that allows the reader to attain a universal, to "feel" the meaning. Those works resonate more with me.