Contemporania
William Carlos Williams
The corner of a great rain
Steamy with the country
Has fallen upon my garden.
I go back and forth now
And the little leaves follow me
Talking of the great rain,
Of branches broken,
And the farmer’s curses!
But I go back and forth
In this corner of a garden
And the green shoots follow me
Praising the great rain.
We are not curst together,
The leaves and I,
Framing devices, flower devices
And other ways of peopling
The barren country.
Truly it was a very great rain
That makes the little leaves follow me.
The corner of a great rain
Steamy with the country
Has fallen upon my garden.
I go back and forth now
And the little leaves follow me
Talking of the great rain,
Of branches broken,
And the farmer’s curses!
But I go back and forth
In this corner of a garden
And the green shoots follow me
Praising the great rain.
We are not curst together,
The leaves and I,
Framing devices, flower devices
And other ways of peopling
The barren country.
Truly it was a very great rain
That makes the little leaves follow me.
C. Christopher Smith is the founding editor of The Englewood Review of Books. He is also author of a number of books, including most recently How the Body of Christ Talks: Recovering the Practice of Conversation in the Church (Brazos Press, 2019). Connect with him online at: C-Christopher-Smith.com
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