My First Poem

The Impact of a Dollar Upon the Heart
By: Stephen Crane
The impact of a dollar upon the heart
Smiles warm red light,
Sweeping from the hearth rosily upon the white table,
With the hanging cool velvet shadows
Moving softly upon the door.
The impact of a million dollars
Is a crash of flunkys,
And yawning emblems of Persia
Cheeked against oak, France and a sabre,
The outcry of old beauty
Whored by pimping merchants
To submission before wine and chatter.
Silly rich peasants stamp the carpets of men,
Dead men who dreamed fragrance and light
Into their woof, their lives;
The rug of an honest bear
Under the feet of a cryptic slave
Who speaks always of baubles,
Forgetting state, multitude, work, and state,
Champing and mouthing of hats,
Making ratful squeak of hats,
Hats.

Most of this poem consists of symbolism making it somewhat hard to decipher. Stephen Crane refers to all the wicked tasks people participate in in order to get money. He shows that people completely disregard moral standards whenever money is put in the picture. Perhaps the most meaningful line to me is when Crane states these words, "The outcry of old beauty, whored by pimping merchants." This speaks to me most out of all the other words written. Crane is stating how people have changed the way people see beauty. he states that people are so easily swayed into believing something that is not beautiful or commendable is perfectly acceptable, such as prostitution. In this way, the poem takes on great meaning.