"In a Station of the Metro" Analysis

In a Station of the Metro (Ezra Pound)

The apparition of these faces in the crowd;

Petals on a wet, black bough.

1) What is a "Metro"? Where is the Metro that Pound describes?

A "Metro" is an underground train. Metro trains are often in large cities, such as New York City and Washington D.C. They have a lot of stops and are an inexpensive way to navigate these cities.

2) What feelings does the poem communicate? Which words and/or phrases contribute to these feelings?

The poem communicates feelings of loneliness and fatigue. I say loneliness because when Pound refers to the crowd in the Metro station, he does not include himself. He says, "these faces." He puts himself in the position of an outsider looking in, even though he is also a part of the crowd. I think that the poem also communicates feelings of fatigue because of the second line, "petals on a wet, black bough." I am not sure exactly what he means by this line, but I am guessing that the "wet, black bough" is the city and the "petals" are the people.