Monday, August 29, 2005

The Great Figure by William Carlos Williams

Among the rain
and lights
I saw the figure 5
in gold
on a red
firetruck
moving
tense
unheeded
to gong clangs
siren howls
and wheels rumbling
through the dark city.

1 comment:

Luis said...

I used to like this poem a lot, and I used to think it was a genius creation of an image in words, which it is. However, after considering this idea a bit, I have come to the conclusion that I have a discontentment with the so called movement in poetry called Imagism, in which Mr. Williams worked, and that is this; Where is the substance?

I mean, I get it. I see the golden image of the number 5 on the moving firetruck, but does it have any depth? Does it have any substance? Does it have any emotion? Does it have any meaning other than the mundane image embedded in it? If it does, I fail to see it.