When is a Poem not a Poem?

In much of my creative writing in these early stages, many words, phrases or poems have double meanings... even stories have two levels of understanding... you may call them metaphors or parables… I call it double vision...seeing things in the natural world as part of the layers of creation, and seeing an emotional or spiritual connection.
I’m not sure how obvious these layers are to others – they seem to be so obvious to me that I fear I am stating an awareness belonging to universal mankind. I read once that a poem should not need to be explained to be appreciated. It should be understood on one level from one’s own experience, and then reread till new levels of comprehension are reached, new depths are plumbed – and then finally knowledge of the poet’s inspiration and background may reveal another dimension.
I have been reading Internet poetry, and not all connects with me – some seem to be crafted to be different for the sake of it and I can’t see what they say for the warbling words. Perhaps I am rushing and would need to soak in it for a while! Is it like some modern art – it doesn’t have to mean anything? I don’t mind that -some creation is beautiful in the sheer element of tripping words or colours or shapes, without understanding being required. It is just a different way of creating pattern, a redesigning of what has been done in so many aesthetic ways which connect with our souls. But now some choose to create their own ugly and depressing truth of life, the spawn of denying their soul.
Pull down rather than uplift? No thank-you, not for me. Poetry and Art should bring us to a higher plane, by a contemplative snapshot, a returning glance at a vision that enfolds us, making us feel more alive, connected to life, part of a whole, even holy in wonder. Prose on the other hand, draws us into a film of life, a creation of scenes unfolding, a progressive development, whole in itself. Having said that, I remember that a few of my epic poems tell a story, with a couple of scenes – does that mean they are prose?
What do you think?