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Poetry Archives

A continuing selection of classic and contemporary poems.

Willow Poem

William Carlos Williams

It is a willow when summer is over,
a willow by the river
from which no leaf has fallen nor
bitten by the sun
turned orange or crimson.
The leaves cling and grow paler,
swing and grow paler
over the swirling waters of the river
as if loath to let go,
they are so cool, so drunk with
the swirl of the wind and of the river—
oblivious to winter,
the last to let go and fall
into the water and on the ground.
Online text © 1998-2008 Poetry X. All rights reserved.
From Sour Grapes | The Four Seas Company, 1921
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