The message in the poem, “Nude Descending a Staircase” written by X. J. Kennedy, is about a woman who has nothing on her mind (l. 4); however readers may respond thinking that the woman Kennedy is talking about is a nude with emotions and stress factors that she wants to get rid of. The woman is lonely, and needs emotional help and comprehension, which she is not getting from her man. The walls are the only ones who hear her cry for help every time her tears drop. The woman in the poem is not physically nude, but her emotions are out in the open. “That parts to let her parts go by” (l. ). The woman feels her feelings are being exposed even when her man does not realize when it happens. It is easier for him to ignore the fact that his woman is having emotional issues. It feels like if the woman is a living dead person because of the depression she is facing on her soul. It is much easier for her man to judge her with having nothing on her mind (l. 4) instead of accepting her feelings. The only ones who know about her feelings are the walls who hear her murmur her thoughts out loud, and watch her cry every time she is alone with her sadness. We spy beneath the banister” (l. 5). The walls are her only companions in her loneliness. The walls cannot do much for the woman because they cannot talk, but they can hear her. “One-woman waterfall, she wears” (l. 9), meaning if we where to count all the tears her eyes have produce and fallen off her face, it will make a enormous water fall. The woman is carrying heavy burdens on her back, which her man does not care for, that make her walk with no pride. “Her slow descent like a long cape” (l. 10).

Every time she has to go back into the real world she has to take a deep breath to give her strength for her to go on. “And pausing, on the final stair” (l. 11). The woman needs comprehension and attention for her feelings and wellbeing; however she is not getting any, so when she is in front of people she has to act like nothing is happening inside of her. “Collects her motion into shape” (l. 12). The woman collects her emotions (l. 12), but others still judge her because of her man’s comments saying she has nothing on her mind (l. ). Her man overshadows her, making her look if she is a weird creature, when in reality she is depress. Many women do feel this way. Their mundane routines make them feel like they have no life. The men play a big role because many are unconscious of the frustrations of their woman or simply neglect their feelings. Men can make a big difference by just asking their woman, “what is wrong… do you need help? ” A simple question can make a big difference in someone’s life.