Strong Women and Whiskey

not for the delicate palate

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Location: Oxford, Pennsylvania, United States

I've found that if you speak as if with authority on nearly any topic, most people will believe you. This frightens me.

Saturday, May 13, 2006

this poem

struck me today and held me fast



Spring and All
by William Carlos Williams

By the road to the contagious hospital
under the surge of the blue
mottled clouds driven from the
northeast-a cold wind. Beyond, the
waste of broad, muddy fields
brown with dried weeds, standing and fallen

patches of standing water
the scattering of tall trees

All along the road the reddish
purplish, forked, upstanding, twiggy
stuff of bushes and small trees
with dead, brown leaves under them
leafless vines-

Lifeless in appearance, sluggish
dazed spring approaches-

They enter the new world naked,
cold, uncertain of all
save that they enter. All about them
the cold, familiar wind-

Now the grass, tomorrow
the stiff curl of wildcarrot leaf
One by one objects are defined-
It quickens: clarity, outline of leaf

But now the stark dignity of
entrance-Still, the profound change
has come upon them: rooted, they
grip down and begin to awaken

2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Interesting stuff. My favourite line had to be:

They enter the new world naked,
cold, uncertain of all
save that they enter. All about them
the cold, unfamiliar wind.

How many of us haven't felt that way?

I feel as if a profound change has come upon me.

Love ya.

10:56 PM  
Blogger Mommyleek said...

Wow, how could you come across that and not be stunned into silence and contemplaton. I have to agree with greyen, the excerpt he chose does seem to be the most striking of the piece.

I really need to get back into reading more. I had nearly forgotten how it felt to be so moved by a piece.

Thanks for not being a slacker like me. :)

8:40 AM  

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