A Poem for William Carlos Williams

written By

this is a poem about poverty

and class.

it is not about

the opening of a flower,

or metaphors

that suggest your life

is a flower

opening,

or astonishment

at nature.

so you will not want

to read it,

and no one will bother

to publish.

but the real

William Carlos Williams

was a radical,

hospitalized for depression

after being investigated

by the F.B.I.

he did not write

only about flowers,

or little wheelbarrows

colored red.

  • Raymond Mazurek was born in Chicago and raised in a working-class neighborhood in Lawrence, Massachusetts. His poetry has appeared in The Blue Collar Review and The Eunoia Review, and he has published numerous essays on literature and working-class studies. Mazurek has taught at several colleges and universities, including Penn State and Southern Illinois University.

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