"Apples"
The poem, "Apples" begins with the narrator describing that there are many kinds of apples in his life (apples being a metaphor), and he lies to others, telling them that he has the greatest apple of all. Meinke used apples as a symbol for truth, allowing readers to infer what each apple that the narrator described meant in real life. The poem has a rather mystical way of getting things across, like most of Meinke's poems, and has a deeper theme than one may think. Meinke does a good job of describing that lies can make a person confused and stressed internally, but the idea that truth is the only theme in the poem is open for further analysis.
"The Gift of the Magi"
Meinke was a bit ignorant to name this poem after the very famous short story of the same name, and probably took advantage of the fact that it is in the public domain, therefore he could use the titles. Readers may enter with a mindset set on the wonders of giving, but the poem takes readers down a rather different road. There appears to be much chaos happening in the Heavens, and Meinke once again describes his themes mystically. It is rather hard to interpret what exactly is meant in the poem, but readers can infer that an air of chaos will what happen when one loses faith in what they believe in, like in this poem's scenario with many religious figures gone mad.
"M?"
A letter and a symbol - and interesting way to name a poem. Other versions of the poem are titled as "M3", after the mysterious tasteless, odorless, colorless, and practically invisible element found within. Meinke makes the narrator of this poem rather pessimistic, perhaps after his own personality on the theme of the poem. Scientists, although advanced, appear unable to find the element, and Meinke haphazardly describes in a fragmented way that ignorance is bliss. The word choice in the poem isn't very direct, and leaves some readers confused about what the poem really represents.
