"Ahh...." by Val Harrison

Before reading the last three lines of the poem, I thought that the purpose of this poem was just a walk down memory lane—I thought that the author just wanted us to come along with her and see something that we all experienced through her eyes. Then I got to the conclusion of the poem, and I had to question that interpretation. After reflecting on a moment of youthful joy—and the memory of that scramble for change when one hears the ice cream truck—the author concludes with the lines: “Huh? / O that’s right / I’m just in Starbucks before class….” This makes me think that maybe the theme is that some things never change. Actually, I originally thought that the idea behind the flash into the present was to say something about the poem being written right before the deadline, but that seemed really inconsistent with the poem’s tone. So, I like my other interpretation better. I think it makes more sense to see that the author lets us know that this ice cream habit has grown and matured into something just a little bit different, but obviously related.

Now that I think I’ve figured out the mysterious last three lines, I am wondering if they are as effective as they could be. It did take me kind of a long time to come up with that explanation—and I'd like to think I’m not a total idiot when it comes to poetry. This is definitely an experimental type of ending, and for that I applaud the author, but I wonder if there is another way to possibly do it. Maybe this could be achieved better if the poem were broken up into sections. Or, it’s possible that even an extra line in there would make the transition a little bit smoother. I know it sounds like a contradiction that space would make something smoother, but I think the way it currently exists in the text is more than a little bit jarring. I realize that this is probably written in a way to mimic the awakening from a daydream, so that we (as the readers of the poem) can experience what the author is experiencing, but I still don’t really feel like it’s exactly as it could be.