I am still thinking about William Carlos Williams’ haiku:
So different, this man And this woman: A stream flowing In a field
I’m also thinking about this one by Ezra Pound:
In a Station of the Metro
The apparition of these faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet, black bough.
I am thinking about what happens when two different images resonate. And, for an audience of kids.
Caroline says:
I notice that these images are all exploring context, and they imply an interdependence…like when a child begins to differentiate, seeing himself or herself as both a separate individual and a member or extension of a family. How the parts create a whole, and how the whole defines the parts. Something like that?
Do you think Carlos’ man is the stream and the woman a field?
Hi Caroline. How exciting for me to have your comments! I hadn’t thought about it that way at all so now I’m happy to reconsider from a completely different point of view.
If I think of the man as the stream and the woman as the field, which, now that you mention it, obviously seems the way to read it, I actually don’t like the poem as much. I had been reading it as a poem about marriage and was thinking of the man and woman together as the stream. I think my reading is incorrect but probably reflects well on my marriage. 🙂 I think I’ll switch my allegiances to the Pound poem for now.
I am still thinking about William Carlos Williams’ haiku:
So different, this man
And this woman:
A stream flowing
In a field
I’m also thinking about this one by Ezra Pound:
In a Station of the Metro
The apparition of these faces in the crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.
I am thinking about what happens when two different images resonate. And, for an audience of kids.
I notice that these images are all exploring context, and they imply an interdependence…like when a child begins to differentiate, seeing himself or herself as both a separate individual and a member or extension of a family. How the parts create a whole, and how the whole defines the parts. Something like that?
Do you think Carlos’ man is the stream and the woman a field?
Hi Caroline. How exciting for me to have your comments! I hadn’t thought about it that way at all so now I’m happy to reconsider from a completely different point of view.
If I think of the man as the stream and the woman as the field, which, now that you mention it, obviously seems the way to read it, I actually don’t like the poem as much. I had been reading it as a poem about marriage and was thinking of the man and woman together as the stream. I think my reading is incorrect but probably reflects well on my marriage. 🙂
I think I’ll switch my allegiances to the Pound poem for now.