I see your point and think I mostly agree. As Archibald MacLeish said in his "Ars Poetica," "A poem should not mean, but be."

Still, I think you overreach. Many artists are lost when asked to translate their artistic urges into words, but many others have the verbal ability and philosophical insight to speak coherently about the inspiration for their creations, what they were attempting, the reasoning behind their choices, and where they place their work in the ongoing conversation of art and culture.

Returning to MacLeish's point, however, we always err in asking, "What does it mean?" No artist I know (including poets and other writers) will fall into that trap. Art must be experienced, and its meaning discovered anew by each person who encounters it.