Hart is a published writer and former teacher. In this essay, she explores the emotions that are carefully hidden in Fulton's playful poem.

Fulton's poem “Art Thou the Thing I Wanted” contains many playful images and poetic wordplay, while seldom approaching overt emotional expression. Still, as with the work of one of the poet's favorite writers, Emily Dickinson, Fulton's poem is indeed inspired by deep sentiments. Hidden beneath the clever wordplay and somewhat lighthearted similes is a heart that has been hurt and is longing to heal. Indeed, from the title, the reader might suspect that the speaker of this poem is in a quandary. The verb in the title is in the past tense, so the narrator can be understood to be looking back on a situation, recollecting and sorting through her feelings, and reflecting on the overall experience. At one time, the speaker thought she...