Hart is a published author and freelance writer. In the following essay, Hart probes Dobyns's poem in search of the essence of life.

From the very first words, Dobyns's poem “It's like This” is a commentary about life. It might take reading the entire poem to make readers realize that even the title of this poem indicates this fact. The title works as an announcer, calling the attention of its audience: Ladies and gentlemen, what you are about to hear is my take on what life is all about. The body of the poem supplies the text.

What, then, is the philosophy of this poem, or the essence of life? The answers are hidden behind every stanza, line, and sometimes even individual words. The clues are not that hard to find. For instance, the first two words of the poem provide a very important hint. They set...