As One Listens to the Rain by Octavio Paz

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As One Listens to the Rain by Octavio Paz

I am writing about Octavio Paz’s poem entitled, “As one Listens to the Rain,” I don’t know why I chose to write about this poem. I chose it mainly because I don’t know what it means but I like what it is saying. I guess you can interpret it in many ways. I asked a couple of my friends and they thought he was speaking to a woman, or speaking of life or even death. The part I like most about the poem are the contradictions used, for example in lines eleven through fourteen, “listen to me as one listens to the rain, / without listening, hear what I say / with eyes open inward, asleep / with all five senses awake,” I think the imagery of the poem is phenomenal, “your fingers of water dampen my forehead, / your fingers of flame burn my eyes, / your fingers of air open eyelids of time.” The constant repetition of the first line sets a certain tone to the poem. It’s almost like a yearning-wanting tone, to listen to what the speaker is saying because it’s important. I however don’t know what the speaker is saying I just like the syntax ...

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