I, like Devin, also chose to focus on "The Grave" but did so for no other reason than I found this poem more haunting than the others and I was in a rather somber mood. For whatever reason, I loved this poem.
Lines 4-5 were particularly interesting to me after our discussion of Heidegger's "standing in the truth." This poem/Moore says that "it is human nature to stand in the middle of a thing, / but yuou cannot stand in the middle of this" (4-5). What is it in human nature that compels us to stand in the middle of anything? Humans seem fairly invested in being a part of things and experiencing them first hand instead of simply observing.
The discussion of the ocean as something humans simply cannot stand in the middle of seemed to me to be a warning, whether Moore intended it to be or not. Too often, humans operate under the assumption that we have conquered nature and that it can never hurt us for we are evolved and more intelligent. This is not so. The ocean doesn't care if you think you're smart. It's so much more powerful and uncaring that everyone should be terrified of the ocean. Thoughts like this remind me to feel small and remember that as a human, no matter what I think, I am not more powerful or important than nature. Nature and the ocean were both here long before I was and they will be here long after I am gone.
This innate desire of us to be smack dab in the middle of things also reminds me of Heidegger. It's the nature of Dasein to involve ourselves in every which way, especially since we are the "alpha" animal. Perhaps since we have evolved in such a way that has lead us to the top of the pyramid, if you will, this is what compels us to stick our noses in everything and anything.
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