Hi Zachary, I can finally write to you! I had a mentally exhausting week and didn't have the strength to even formulate a coherent thought. But here I am!

I'm glad you liked my poem; above all because it was not appreciated as, in my opinion, it deserved, but de gustibus non disputandum est (= tastes/preferences cannot be discussed). I'll answer your question, but I won't be brief.

By "hermetic," in Italian we mean a perfect seal (airtight) where not even air can get through. By extension, a hermetic person does not reveal their emotions, feelings, or even thoughts. It is silent. Hermeticism comes in Italy after Decadentism, which is in fact its opposite: fervor, frenzy, passion and inner wounds that bleed. Both periods are framed in quite different historical times because World War I intervenes meanwhile, and therefore, death, destruction and hunger follow the Belle Epoque that ends in 1914.

So, the individual closes in on themselves, becomes brooding; they are stingy with expressiveness. The poet expresses just a few emotions common to all, even those taken for granted, and the nuances on which the Decadentism indulged instead disappear. The hermetic poet does not allow themselves to be overwhelmed by emotions and instincts (the decadentist is delighted and pleased with their own stylistic skill=empowerment).

A hermetic author, on the other hand, describes in a few words, similes, metaphors, concepts and feelings that every person experiences. These authors sought the essential, the bone, what lies beneath the excessive words. They abandoned the "egocentrism" of the decadentist poets and, instead, objectified their sensibility by deconstructing their own poetry.

Through analogy, the poet detached themselves from any social and poetic discourse and especially from the fascist ideology. The communicative ease of the mass society (propaganda) of the fascist dictatorship push poets to close themselves in order to detach from all that, intending to find the true meaning of the word and use it only if necessary.

There is the search for a pure, essential poetry, detached from practical purposes and without educational ambitions. The central theme of hermetic poetry is the sense of desperate loneliness of modern humanity, who lost faith in traditional values, in romantic myths, along with their certainties. The world has become incomprehensible due to wars and dictatorships; therefore, the poet conveys a disheartened view of life. There are no illusions.

The word no longer has a communicative value, but becomes essentially evocative. This poetry builds on states of mind, inner withdrawal. However, it's expressed in collected and subdued tones, through refined and evocative language which, through analogy and illusions, blurs any direct reference to experience, from which, as mentioned, poets want to alienate themselves.

So, it is certainly now clearer that the hermetic poet is absolutely not looking for a central role as a protagonist, but quite the opposite. They are rather individuals elusive to the masses and to politics.

My poem was my attempt at analogy, to evoke my intent to isolate myself from the world, in which I do not find certainties and positive feelings. The image of locking myself up in the house with my dog, detaching us from the external world ​​and sharing our time in a mutual exchange of emotions represents the schematic idea of how the days of my life pass regular and all the same. It is the estrangement from the outside world, by seeking inward (the house is the symbol) the need for regularity, habits and feelings (the dog is the symbol).

So I understand very well why readers might have difficulties to see the meaning in my poem. On the other hand, I wrote another poem about this condition, which evidently has been better understood: https://medium.com/illumination/kitchen-in-a-country-houseof-a-woman-f78e0259288e?source=friends_link&sk=1fc4797574f1744bbbdddca6a423da0f

I am sorry I couldn't be more brief, but I felt it was necessary to direct you towards the correct interpretation of the hermetic poetry.

Thank you again for commenting on my poem.