Um…when people started asking the Straight Dope questions about mystical poems?
Hmm. I ain’t gonna check back on mystical poems, but the Straight Dope has certainly been asked (and answered) questions about interpretations of songs and poems in the past. Sometimes, one can ask the author, of course, although it’s not clear that one can trust what the author says. Some authors/artists simply make stuff up for interviews (Alfred Hitchcock comes to mind) and others don’t really know the deeper meanings of what they’ve created. In the case of ancient poetry, of course, it’s difficult to ask the author. Unless you think the Author is God, in which case, you can certainly ask. Let me know if He answers.