By the road to the contagious hospital
\nunder the surge of the blue
\nmottled clouds driven from the
\nnortheast \u2013 a cold wind. Beyond, the
\nwaste of broad, muddy fields
\nbrown with dried weeds, standing and fallen<\/p>\n
patches of standing water
\nthe scattering of tall trees<\/p>\n
All along the road the reddish
\npurplish, forked, upstanding, twiggy
\nstuff of bushes and small trees
\nwith dead, brown leaves under them
\nleafless vines \u2013<\/p>\n
Lifeless in appearance, sluggish
\ndazed spring approaches \u2013<\/p>\n
They enter the new world naked,
\ncold, uncertain of all
\nsave that they enter. All about them
\nthe cold, familiar wind \u2013<\/p>\n
Now the grass, tomorrow
\nthe stiff curl of wildcarrot leaf
\nOne by one objects are defined \u2013
\nIt quickens: clarity, outline of leaf<\/p>\n
But now the stark dignity of
\nentrance \u2013 Still, the profound change
\nhas come upon them: rooted, they
\ngrip down and begin to awaken<\/p>\n
William Carlos Williams, 1883 – 1963<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
William Carlos Williams is one of my favourite poets and also one of the defining voices of 20th century American poetry.\u00a0 In this poem, the title poem of his 1923 collection Spring and All<\/em>, I particularly like the way he defies contemporary poetic dictum by the powerful use of multiple adjectives to create a ‘more is [much] more’ effect in the following stanza:<\/p>\n “All along the road the reddish Overall though, I just love the acute observation inherent in the poem and its powerful sense of energy, however “sluggish” and “dazed” the spring that approaches—but oh, that imagery! And the wonder of:<\/p>\n ” … Still, the profound change —<\/p>\n
\npurplish, forked, upstanding, twiggy
\nstuff of bushes and small trees
\nwith dead, brown leaves under them
\nleafless vines \u2013 ”<\/p>\n
\nhas come upon them: rooted, they
\ngrip down and begin to awaken”<\/p>\n