Poetry Sunday: Spring and All: III [The farmer in deep thought]

My father was a farmer. This poem makes me think of him. How often I  have seen him pacing his fields - "the artist figure of the farmer" - in early spring as, in his mind, he is composing and he sees the fields already planted...

Spring and All: III [The farmer in deep thought]

BY William Carlos Williams
The farmer in deep thought
is pacing through the rain
among his blank fields, with
hands in pockets,
in his head
the harvest already planted.
A cold wind ruffles the water
among the browned weeds.
On all sides
the world rolls coldly away :
black orchards
darkened by the March clouds —
leaving room for thought.
Down past the brushwood
bristling by
the rainsluiced wagonroad
looms the artist figure of
the farmer — composing
— antagonist.

Comments

  1. David M. Gascoigne,March 30, 2025 at 6:20 AM

    Lovely poem! It really does capture the moment.

    ReplyDelete
  2. jabblogMarch 30, 2025 at 6:26 AM

    I like the image of the farmer as artist, planning and foreseeing the seasons.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lark March 30, 2025 at 9:46 AM

    What a lovely poem. Williams sure knew how to paint pictures with his words.

    ReplyDelete

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