Tuesday 3 February 2015

Tuesday Poem: "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.
 

by William Carlos Williams
 
I love the way this poem manages to convey such an intense and vibrant image of a firetruck (or fire engine as we call them in New Zealand) racing to an emergency with such economy, in such a pared-down use of words.
 
For more information about the poet, William Carlos Williams, see:
 

 
 




2 comments:

  1. It's so to the bone and it invites the reader to write: you, too, can write poems just as they are.

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  2. Yes, great observation, Harvey. The ideal is to use just enough words and no more. No fat at all.

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