Writing Problems: the Object

The object—a substantive word, phrase, or clause, immediately dependenT on or ‘governed by’, a verb, as expressing, in the case of a verb of action, the person or thing to which the action is directed, or on which it is exerted.—Oxford English Dictionary

In a poem, according to George Oppen:

How the object in a poem bursts the boundaries is mysterious and not well understood (under-studied?). It’s not enough to mention objects in a poem for no purpose. A functionless object in a poem makes the reader feel as if the speaker or voice is meandering, without focus, without motivation. The artistic choice-making feels muddy.