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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

A PRELUDE by WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS

Poem Explanation Poet Analysis

First Line: I KNOW ONLY THE BARE ROCKS OF TODAY
Last Line: "SISTERS,"" I SAY TO THEM."
Subject(s): TIME;
I know only the bare rocks of today.
In these lies my brown sea-weed, --
green quartz veins bent through the wet shale;
in these lie my pools left by the tide --
quiet, forgetting waves;
on these stiffen white star fish
on these I slip barefooted!

Whispers of the fishy air touch my body;
"Sisters," I say to them.



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