The Moth-Man by Elizabeth Bishop

The “Man-Moth” by Elizabeth Bishop seemed very interesting in the beginning but then very confusing in the end. I tried to read the poem with the word “mammoth” in replace of “man-moth” but I was still very confused. At the beginning of the poem, I pictured a man that is fascinated by the moon by Bishop saying, “He does not see the moon; he observes only her vast properties,” (7). In the second stanza, I feel that the man was in a hiding place and slowly “emerges from an opening under the edge of one of the sidewalks” to investigate the sky and the moon (12-13). He has found out that the moon is not an opening in the sky and becomes greatly disappointed. I am guessing that the man is a crazy, homeless guy because later in the poem, it is described that he goes in the subway every night and “He has to keep his hands in his pockets, as others must wear mufflers.” (Which mufflers are usually worn by people who have money) (39-40).