William Carlos Williams

"The Widow's Lament in Springtime"

This poignant poem consists of a single stanza of short lines which are mostly enjambed.  Williams is able to say so much with so few words and he combines the words in creative ways so as to make the words fresh again.  Dickinson said that "A WORD is dead / When it is said, Some say."  When words are overused they can loose power in the minds of those who read/hear/say them.  Poetry such as that of Williams resuscitates old words so as to renew their power.  Often poetry is written in a condensed language so that every word retains more of its essence and Williams was certainly a great writer of poetry with regard to that technique.  The poem begins with;
"Sorrow is my own yard
where the new grass
flames as it has flamed
often before but not
with the cold fire
that closes round me this year."
(Lines 1 - 6).
This is a great introduction.  The reader wants to keep reading as to ascertain the source of this persons sorrow.  The references to cycles of time and memories of the past juxtaposed with the sincere declaration of sorrow subtly suggests that the speaker has a story to tell.  In earnest, a reader could not know that the speaker was a widow based on the one indication in lines 7-8:  "Thirtyfive years / I lived with my husband."  It is only due to the title that we know for sure.  With the closing lines, the widow explains that she would like to drown herself in the marsh.  It would seem that her husband was her purpose for living to some degree and that in his absence, the world has lost its beauty.