It was tall and thin and scraggly and prim Then I saw another just as perfect Short and sturdy with branches and brambles And then another with a rugged fat trunk Older than the rest, but just as perfect I saw a dozen trees in a clump sharing the light So their growth was stunted But regal they were, plumped and perfect And then a small twisted tree with leaves fallen, trunk slanted all the more perfect
A man-child from Mississauga heading to bend steel To make his fortunes in the Alberta oil fields; “I’ve never seen so many trees in my whole life” A balding dude 30 years a social worker Retiring home to Winnipeg, calms; “Where I come from they cut them all down, long, long, long before I was born.” And I am reminded—This land, this land Where cities have sprouted, Blooming glistening skyscrapers at night T’was all covered with trees once One big forest we were once All perfect trees.
So I conclude that we do need poets in these times. Wisdom is a calming thing.
Here's a calming image - a little bit of sunshine for afternoon tea.
William Carlos Williams' poetry is quoted often. There are other more quoted poets. While I didn't look up who has the most quotes, I was fascinated by who is quoted most. Here is the countdown. Can you imagine that Alexander Pope is in the first position, and Shakespeare is down at fourth? Some of the poets are referred to by first and surname, and others just by surname. Is that sloppy naming conventions? No matter, this is a remarkable chart.
So back to William Carlos Williams and his imagist, enjambed poems. Here is one his most quoted, as compared to most parodied poems. Would you like the interpretation? Take a look at the line-by-line analysis HERE.
The Red Wheelbarrow
so much depends
upon
a red wheel
barrow
glazed with rain
water
beside the white
chickens
Here are his words on poetry's place in our lives:
It is difficult to get the news from poetry, yet men die miserably every day for lack of what is found there.
Our layout pictures today seem the opposite of the poem above. Nothing sparse here!
