The Act by William Carlos Williams
The Act
William Carlos WilliamsThere were the roses, in the rain.
Don’t cut them, I pleaded.
They won’t last, she said.
But they’re so beautiful
where they are.
Agh, we were all beautiful once, she said,
and cut them and gave them to me
in my hand.
MARGINALIA
Could anything be more beautiful?
ABOUT WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS
William Carlos Williams was born the first of two sons of an English father and a Puerto Rican mother of French, Dutch, Spanish, and Jewish ancestry, and he grew up in Rutherford, New Jersey. He was a medical doctor, poet, novelist, essayist, and playwright. With Ezra Pound and H.D., Williams was a leading poet of the Imagist movement and often wrote of American subjects and themes. Though his career was initially overshadowed by other poets, he became an inspiration to the Beat… (more)
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ENDNOTES
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ryan
cool
abigail Thomas
try reading this without weeping. impossible.
rarthurc1
Q: “Could anything be more beautiful?” / A: the roses…
Richard
Q: “Could anything be more beautiful?” / A: (the) roses…
Stephanie Soressi
We thought love was like that:
Only fake flowers last forever;
Real ones sooner die when
Cut for centerpiece.