March by William Carlos Williams

March (Parts I and II)
by William Carlos Williams (from Sour Grapes, 1921)


I
Winter is long in this climate
and spring�a matter of a few days
only,�a flower or two picked
from mud or from among wet leaves
or at best against treacherous
bitterness of wind, and sky shining
teasingly, then closing in black
and sudden, with fierce jaws.

II
March,
you remind me of
the pyramids, our pyramids�
stript of the polished stone
that used to guard them!
March,
you are like Fra Angelico
at Fiesole, painting on plaster!

March,
you are like a band of
young poets that have not learned
the blessedness of warmth
(or have forgotten it).

At any rate�
I am moved to write poetry
for the warmth there is in it
and for the loneliness�
a poem that shall have you
in it March.


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