I am reading William Carlos Williams poems and I like his style. He is probably best known for The Red Wheelbarrow. The Red Wheelbarrow | The Poetry Foundation
The question is raised, what exactly depends on the red wheelbarrow? I think, nothing. Perhaps its the poet introducing an interesting start to draw the reader in. So do not tear your hair out with this.
The secret of unpacking his poems is don’t.
A useful way to read Williams
Don’t ask first:
“What does it symbolize?”
Ask:
“What exactly am I being shown?”
Williams trusted physical reality itself to carry meaning. Scenes from everyday life.
His poems often work like moments of heightened attention; almost like glimpses where the ordinary world suddenly becomes luminous.
I tried to write in his style based on one of these memories that dance in our heads. I was on Troon beach in Ayrshire a year ago and observed a dog looking out to sea for some time. I wondered what he was thinking. He was alone on an empty beach.
Alone
Alone
on the wet sand
a dog
facing the sea
motionless
except for
the wind
lifting the fur
behind the ears—
as though
something there
far beyond
the blue water
had spoken
his name.