Response to Paul's Ekphrasis Poem

Paul's Ekphrasis poem with the photo
This one could be regarded as a good ekphrasis poem. I was surprised to find a larger story towards such a simple photo through Paul’s poem. It is obvious that there are two parts of the poem. The first part simply depicts a man who are walking a bear. Readers cannot figure out what its deep meaning then, until Paul mentions ship and hero in the last part. Actually, I did not like his way to shift from the walking man to the ship until I know the hidden story. It seems that the man is a hero who ever steers the ship struggling in the ocean. But now, the ship is too old to continue sailing, and the man becomes a homeless person. Nevertheless, it is encouraging to see that the homeless man finds a homeless bear. The bear saved the man emotionally. They walk along with each other with hope and keep moving forward. Therefore, a homeless person may not be an useless but a hero. It’s really a meaningful story which tells us to move forward, always forward no matter how difficult the life is.