#MIDDLEBURY
Crude Lament
William Carlos Williams
Mother of flames,
The men that went ahunting
Are asleep in the snow drifts.
You have kept the fire burning!
Crooked fingers that pull
Fuel from among the wet leaves,
Mother of flames
You have kept the fire burning!
The young wives have fallen asleep
With wet hair, weeping,
Mother of flames!
The young men raised the heavy spears
And are gone prowling in the darkness.
O mother of flames,
You who have kept the fire burning!
Lo, I am helpless!
Would God they had taken me with them!
About this poem
“Crude Lament” was published in “The Tempers” (Elkin Mathews, 1913).
About William Carlos Williams
William Carlos Williams was born on Sept. 17, 1883, in Rutherford, N.J. His collections of poetry include “Spring and All” (Contact Publishing Co., 1923) and the five-volume epic “Paterson” (New Directions, 1963). He died on March 4, 1963.
The Academy of American Poets is a nonprofit, mission-driven organization, whose aim is to make poetry available to a wider audience. Email The Academy at poem-a-day@poets.org.
This poem is in the public domain. Originally published in Poem-a-Day, www.poets.org. Distributed by King Features Syndicate.
