While this poem is short, I think the use of language adds multiple meanings and possible interpretations which make it super interesting to dissect. From the title, and the footnote in the Norton Anthology, that the poem was inspired by a time the author was at a metro station in Paris. I found the word choice in “these faces” particularly intriguing. The footnote states that the poem was written six months after Pound was in Paris at this station, yet the word choice of “these” makes the poem feel present and engages the audience; the poem makes the audience feel like they are looking at the faces with Pound. In this way, I feel like Pound is trying to imply that anyone can be like him or be a face in the crowd and this crowd is more symbolic of a larger human condition.

I also found “apparition” really interesting as an adjective in this context. Apparition associates ghost-like images with the faces  and introduces death as a theme to consider in the poem. Pound is essentially looking at a large group of living, moving people and seeing a bunch of ghosts. I wonder if Pound was trying to make an ironic statement here about society, or perhaps just making an unlikely comparison to highlight the remarkableness of the faces in the crowd. 

The second line of the poem uses strong imagery. I think the placement of the ceasura also plays a very important role here. The pause it creates when read and spoken makes “wet” and “black” both very distinct. In this way, I think the punctuation separates the expressions and emphasizes them so the reader can really create an image in their head before understanding the picture Pound is trying to paint. My struggle with this poem was finding the connection between the two lines.  I considered the fact that Pound could be comparing the two images; faces in a dark, dirty metro resemble wilted petals on a dark black bough. Maybe the connection highlights a connection between the natural and human life given the stark contrast between the both images. I also considered that maybe the poem isn’t really intended to mean anything at all rather a stream of images that come to the author’s mind. Pound could be remembering certain things and this crowd and bough are just two images that came to him, hence the fact it was written six months after. The use of “apparition” in this case could signify a distance Pound feels from the crowd given his imagination or the fact that he probably cannot remember the faces in that crowd, so they appear empty (or ghostly).