On Ezra Pound's "In a Station of the Metro"

Al Filreis, Anna Strong Safford, Emily Harnett, Max McKenna, Molly O'Neill, Dave Poplar, and Ali Castleman meet in the Kelly Writers House Arts Cafe to discuss Ezra Pound's "In a Station of the Metro."
Read "In a Station of the Metro" here:
www.poetryfoun...
Enroll anytime in "ModPo," a free, open, online course on Modern and Contemporary American Poetry, at modpo.org.

[@prajnasamadhi60]

The two parallel images are the two sides of an equation contributing to one theme: the transcience of life.
apparation comes and goes, these faces may have brought joy, but they do not stay;
petals instead of flowers indicate the poet's mentality regarding blossom, they are the broken form of flower, something to be lamented and pitied.
The overarching theme is: all good things come to an end.

[@kaymurphy9743]

I am trying to distinguish apparition from hallucination: it seem that an apparition requires some visual, auditory sensation which is then misperceived, but a hallucination can appear from nothing. ,

[@pulykamell]

To me, it’s more that “apparition” has a ghostly, otherworldly, mysterious connotation to it versus “hallucination,” which feels more clinical or neutral and explained (as a product of one’s mind.) At least this is how I react to and perceive these words. But now that I think about it some more, a hallucination feels more internal to me, while an apparition implies an existence outside of oneself, so I see your point, I think.