Gaya Avidor Week 15 - Pick a Poet Kim Addonizio "Aquarium"

For this month’s Pick a Poet Blog, I chose to write about Kim Addonizio’s poem, “Aquarium”. The element that drew me to be interested in her poems, is that the topics are arbitrary and have no specific pattern. I feel that she always writes exactly what comes to her mind, and how she views her surroundings as having a life of their own. She takes in every observation she makes, and turns it into a piece of writing that may look simple at first glance, but always has a deeper meaning.

The poem, “Aquarium”, talks about fish in their tank. Now, when reading it one time through, you might not understand what is so significant about this poem. But, when going back and rereading it slowly, you come to the understanding that fish lead a short and uninteresting life. You may think to yourself, but what is the point of someone writing about fish? Well, to me it shows how impactful our human lives can be, and that we should be thankful that we are in control of our lives unlike the subjects of this poem. Fish do not have a means of authority over their lives, and this poem reminded me that we all have a say in what goes on around us and how we choose to live our lives. We must remember that it is a blessing and not to let the thoughts or actions of others in our society influence the way you live.

Addonizio goes on to write, “They die on the rug. We find them there, eyes open in surprise.” This line explains the sad and abrupt ending to a fish’s life. We do not want to be taken by surprise in the things that go on in our own lives. So as I previously stated, even though this poem might just sound like a description of someone’s fish tank, things can always be interpreted to have a hidden meaning.