Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


WINTER SUNSET by WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS

Poem Explanation Poet Analysis

First Line: THEN I RAISED MY HEAD
Last Line: THEY'D SET THERE.
Subject(s): EVENING; WINTER;

Then I raised my head
and stared out over
the blue February waste
to the blue bank of hill
with stars on it
in strings and festoons --
but above that:
one opaque
stone of a cloud
just on the hill
left and right
as far as I could see;
and above that
a red streak, then
icy blue sky!

It was a fearful thing
to come into a man's heart
at that time; that stone
over the little blinking stars
they'd set there.



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