I’ve been in the mood for William Carlos Williams lately. Born in Rutherford, NJ in the late 1800s, he studied medicine and became a pediatrician in his home town before discovering and acting on his writing talent. Many know his poem, The Red Wheelbarrow, best. I have chosen another poem to highlight because of the line, “that’s what got to me.” It’s just how I felt when I first read the poem and how I feel every time since.
The Manoeuvre
I saw the two starlings
coming in toward the wires.
But at the last,
just before alighting, they
turned in the air together
and landed backwards!
that’s what got to me – to
face into the wind’s teeth.
William Carlos Williams