Jungle

My initial reaction to Robert Kelly poem the Jungle was disappointing. The poem has a completely different meaning compared to Henri Rousseau painting The Dream. This painting was the pinnacle of Henri Rousseau artistic career. The painting conveys a luscious garden a woman’s fantasizes while listening to the charmer, who is seamlessly weaved into the jungle. In contrast, the poem discusses an individuals self conflict. The speaker faces disappointment with his own self-development. “The green” he nurtures ends up destroying him. It doesn’t provide him support and leaves him uncertain of his past and present. The speaker describes his surrounding to be monotonous and unstable, reflecting his development. He had greater hopes for his journey, described in the last line “the core of it is to be more.” Even though the poem doesn’t relate to the accompany artwork, the poem still holds value to me.