An Empty Room

Personally I think the author of Michael Chitwood in writing “The Room” was thinking about life in general. The empty room, which he is standing in, represents where he is in life right now. The room is empty because though he may wish to seek the council of others no one else can help him with what he has to do: choosing a life for himself. He talks about two doors that exit the room, which showcase the two paths upon which he is contemplating: living in a small town and getting married or a rigorous career. He goes on to say “We are leaving as we speak” meaning that even though he has not chosen a door, he a still moving because he is maturing and growing. Then when he is talking about the “dearly departed” he is referring to all of the experiences that led him up to this point. They are no present, but the remnants of their former presence lingers and plays a huge role in his decision. He ends the poem talking about “our bodies ghosted, the leavings remaining” referring to all the marks that have been physically left by him, referring to things which immortalize him in people’s memories, such as photographs, achievements, etc. On the whole though, the poem simply talks about how choosing where one is going is highly dependent on where one has been.