Oh, No- Robert Creeley

If you wander far enough
you will come to it
and when you get there
they will give you a place to sit

for yourself only, in a nice chair,
and all your friends will be there
with smiles on their faces
and they will likewise all have places.

This poem is extremely broad and doesn't give too many clues as to what the author is really talking about. By saying "you will come to it" and using the word "there" instead of a specific place, Creeley leaves room for the reader to interpret. After researching the poem and the author a little bit I realized there are two extreme ideas about this poem, that it's about coming to a positive self purpose and realization, or the complete opposite that you've wandered too far away from your morals and purpose and the idea of temptation. Also alluding to heaven and hell. Before reading these other opinions I thought it was the first of the two. I pictured a person who had been wandering and searching their whole life until finally they found their purpose. As they realized this they could relax in the "nice chair" and be content with their lives, their friends would surround them and find the same happiness. The only think contradicting my thoughts was the title: Oh, No. Why would this cause any anxiety or stress to say "Oh, No?"
        After thinking more about the title I could see the poem in a completely different way. Wandering suddenly takes on a lost and confused tone. Now the person has drifted so far away from this self purpose that they are in a bad place. As they negative influences urge the person to sit and enjoy the comfy chair all to themselves, it shows selfishness and glutton. The so called friends are just planning how to add more corruption as they are smiling.
        Although I'd love to believe it's the first of the two, the second fits with the title and Robert Creeley's typical style of subtle messages. This poem is simply written with hardly any punctuation adding to the quietly bold style.