Backward

William Carlos Williams 1883 (Rutherford) – 1963 (Rutherford)



A three-day-long rain from the east--
an terminable talking, talking
of no consequence--patter, patter, patter.
Hand in hand little winds
blow the thin streams aslant.
Warm. Distance cut off. Seclusion.
A few passers-by, drawn in upon themselves,
hurry from one place to another.
Winds of the white poppy! there is no escape!--
An interminable talking, talking,
talking . . .it has happened before.
Backward, backward, backward.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

20 sec read
340

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCDAEFCGBHI
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 425
Words 67
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 12

William Carlos Williams

William Carlos Williams was a Latino-American poet closely associated with modernism and imagism. more…

All William Carlos Williams poems | William Carlos Williams Books

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    "Backward" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 26 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/39643/backward>.

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