'Poison Ivy'
MEANING BY STANZA
Stanza 1
Opens with how the persona was angry with his friend. He told his friend about his anger and the anger then disappeared. The persona then goes on to describe a scenario when he was angry with his enemy. He did not tell his enemy that he was angry, thus, his anger kept on growing!
Stanza 2
The persona talks more on how his anger grows. He compares his growing anger to a growing plant where he waters the plant with his fears and his tears. However, he did not give it real sunshine. He merely gives smiles and deceitful wiles. A wile is a cunning trick. Here, it suggests that he may be planning some sort of a devious scheme for his enemy- and this deceitful scheme is just like the sunshine for the growing plant.
Stanza 3
Describes how the persona’s efforts eventually bore fruit. The fruit is the apple bright. The enemy clearly recognises that the fruit belongs to the persona.
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Stanza 4
Reveals that the enemy had seen the apple and stole it. The enemy had stolen the apple during the night when it was dark as the “pole” – the North Star was all covered up. Thus, the star was not visible-to guide the enemy out of the danger. The enemy eats the apple and most probably – he dies.
