“Persimmons” features five characters with unique and idiosyncratic grasps on language; ranging from a rigid and clinical approach that isolates each word in its denotive context to a highly allusive and connected strategy that links words together through memory or imagery. The poem celebrates this more idiosyncratic reading—paradoxically, its intensely personal quality makes it a better tool for communicating than the more restrictive and punitive style. The speaker’s unique relationship with the word “persimmons,” for instance, brings forth a rich spring of associations and memories—one that allows him to connect with his mother, his father, and even a bird. Conversely, Mrs. Walker’s refusal to engage with the connotations of the word “persimmon” make her a terrible, abusive teacher, and deprive her and her students from being able to savor a ripe sample of this fruit.

“Persimmons” contrasts a series of botched and successful communications. Often, what the speaker at first perceives as his own failure, such as when he fails to know the “difference / between persimmon and precision” (Line 5), or when he confuses words like “fight and fright, wren and yarn” (Line 31). His teacher’s violent response to his misunderstanding seems to show that he will never learn to communicate effectively.