Thursday, August 14, 2014

Poem of the Day: "Winter Trees" by William Carlos Williams, Poet of the Month

The Songs of Eretz Poem of the Day for August 14, 2014 is "Winter Trees" by William Carlos Williams, Poet of the Month.  The poem was first published in Sour Grapes: A Book of Poems in 1921 http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/williams/1051.  It is in the public domain and therefore legally reprinted here.  A brief biography of Williams and references may be found here:  http://eretzsongs.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-songs-of-eretz-poet-of-month-for.html.

Winter Trees
William Carlos Williams

All the complicated details
of the attiring and
the disattiring are completed!
A liquid moon
moves gently
among the long branches.
Thus having prepared their buds
against a sure winter
the wise trees
stand sleeping in the cold.

This short poem about trees in winter would have been a tired subject, even in 1921.  However, Williams used his signature variable foot and Imagist style to breathe fresh life into the subject.

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