Language is a slippery vehicle

In Robert Hass's poem, The Problem Of Describing Trees, he tries to describe the nature of a tree. He tries to use words that would portray the meaning of its nature. However, he claims that it is not possible to describe a tree's beauty and natural life. "And the tree danced. No. The tree capitalized. No. There are limits to saying, In language, what the tree did." Language is a slippery vehicle because there are limits. If you want to depict something so perfect and pure like trees, you must use perfect and pure words. If you don't use those words, then it is indescribable. This is the problem Hass has in his poem.

Words that are set onto paper are more meaningful than words that are thought in the mind. As the author, one chooses words to sound perfect in writing. Rodney Jones's Hubris at Zunzal describes how he tries to recover his words from the poem. He believes that once words are put down on paper, they no longer belong to the authors. His mind flows with words for poetry, and they are spilled out and can never be taken back. They belong to the readers.