Typically, when encountered with a poem I read through the whole thing once and comprehend none of it. Then I reread it again, slower this time, and still comprehend none of it.
Then I start going line-by-line, reading each section over and over again until I give up on understanding that section, getting more and more frustrated with each line.
Then I go to the Internet to help me translate the words from poetry into English and that still doesn’t help because I can see no correlation between the explanations that people are giving and the actual words contained within the poem.
And then I stop trying and angrily swear off poetry as a failed art form for the umpteenth time.
Do you not read the first page or 2 in the library before settling on the book and deciding to take it home? 😄