To Waken An Old Lady

William Carlos Williams

Old age is
a flight of small
cheeping birds
skimming
bare trees
above a snow glaze.
Gaining and failing
they are buffeted
by a dark wind—
But what?
On harsh weedstalks
the flock has rested,
the snow
is covered with broken
seedhusks
and the wind tempered
by a shrill
piping of plenty.

Next 10 Poems

• William Carlos Williams : Tract
• William Carlos Williams : Transitional
• William Carlos Williams : Trees
• William Carlos Williams : Waiting
• William Carlos Williams : Willow Poem
• William Carlos Williams : Winter Trees
• William Carlos Williams : Youth And Beauty
• John Wilmot : A Fragment Of Seneca Translated
• John Wilmot : A Letter From Artemesia In The Town To Chloe In The Country
• John Wilmot : A Ramble In St. James's Park

Previous 10 Poems

• William Carlos Williams : To Have Done Nothing
• William Carlos Williams : To Elsie
• William Carlos Williams : To A Solitary Disciple
• William Carlos Williams : To A Friend Concerning Several Ladies
• William Carlos Williams : Thursday ( Ii )
• William Carlos Williams : Thursday
• William Carlos Williams : The Young Housewife
• William Carlos Williams : The Widow's Lament In Springtime
• William Carlos Williams : The Uses Of Poetry
• William Carlos Williams : The Tulip Bed