I think many would agree that there is more than one, and possibly several, interpretations of Forrest's poem. Each interpretation may serve a different purpose, and the combination of the interpretations helps achieve the overall solution to the poem - the 'where' and the 'why'. Said another way, one purpose of the poem is definitely to act as a map, a literal set of directions to lead a searcher to the treasure chest. The purpose is help a searcher to discover the 'where'. Another purpose may be to contain a riddle, which when solved, will confirm the deeper meaning. The riddle of the poem may offer the 'why' of the chase. The treasure itself may have been just a lure, to motivate people to slowly solve the 'where' and discover the 'why' of the chase, by combining both interpretations.
So what about the riddle? There may be a deeper puzzle to solve. Now, some have proposed that an underlying theme of the poem is the cycle of life. Forrest put one of his hairs in the chest. Why would he do that? The only reason is to provide a DNA sample. I'm not going to go into the nitty-gritty of what I think the cycle of life means, or it's relationship to the poem, but I can definitely see where it comes from. What's the end result? If you interpret the poem in this certain way, when Fenn says "so why is it that I must go and leave my TROVE for all to seek" it is entirely within the realm of possibilities that he is not referring to the treasure chest, as the trove, or what we are seeking. What if the trove he speaks of is actually his DNA. What, or to whom, his DNA matches to out there . . . may elucidate the 'why' of the whole she-bang. And this may be far more valuable than the lure of the gold.
So what about the riddle? There may be a deeper puzzle to solve. Now, some have proposed that an underlying theme of the poem is the cycle of life. Forrest put one of his hairs in the chest. Why would he do that? The only reason is to provide a DNA sample. I'm not going to go into the nitty-gritty of what I think the cycle of life means, or it's relationship to the poem, but I can definitely see where it comes from. What's the end result? If you interpret the poem in this certain way, when Fenn says "so why is it that I must go and leave my TROVE for all to seek" it is entirely within the realm of possibilities that he is not referring to the treasure chest, as the trove, or what we are seeking. What if the trove he speaks of is actually his DNA. What, or to whom, his DNA matches to out there . . . may elucidate the 'why' of the whole she-bang. And this may be far more valuable than the lure of the gold.
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