When reading poetry, there are many ways to connect to the piece emotionally. One way is through imagery and the deconstruction and analysis of the mood and tone of the poetry. This is because these literary elements are used in order to help the reader connect and better understand the situation of the character, theme, etc. A simple answer could also be to envision yourself in the place of a character, like placing yourself in their shoes. The truth is that there are definitely multiple ways to answer this question, these are just a few possible answers.