Every person who reads a poem "raises" it into a different adult.

While it has the same physical features, its character is always new.

This is because while speakers of a natural language share some common understanding of the meanings of words (i.e. their denotations), the connotations of any word depend on the individual's particular mental associations with that word.

For example, If I say the word "chair":
I may be thinking of my grandmother's rocking chair.
And you may be thinking of that mildewed armchair upon which you lost your virginity in college.
There is a very slim chance that these two chairs might physically be the same, but even so, you probably did not lose your virginity to my grandmother.

The meaning of a poem is profoundly affected by the reader's interpretation. In fact, I would even say that the author has no absolute claim on the meaning at all.

We cannot know authorial intent, but can only read the words on the page.

Incidentally, a node is like a child raised by an entire clan...

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