Poetry: Loving a Lie -Ally Monroe

1. I think William Carlos Williams is imagining a farm in which a red wheelbarrow is being filled with rain water in order for the white chickens to have water to drink. I would say that the poem has more symbolism than just that. I can’t really analyze it with just its few lines. But if I had to guess, I would think the red wheelbarrow symbolizes life and the water from the rain is what is being put into your life. Like the saying, “is the glass half full or half empty” but in this situation is the “wheelbarrow half full or half empty.” The rain can symbolize all things that have happened in your life, which can cause the wheel barrow to overflow. The white chickens may symbolize purity and modesty, almost like a figure of an angel in your life. What you do with that water is up to you, you can help feed the “white chickens” with the water or you can waste it on yourself. It’s like karma, whatever you do; good or bad will come back to you in time. I could be totally off but it was my interpretation of the poem. I think he felt peaceful about what he was seeing and he really saw the beauty of his life on a farm. The way he uses the image of a wheelbarrow, rain, and white chicken makes the poem symbolize different things in life.

 

2.  So much depends on

     the way he tears me apart

yet says give me time

when I have tears rolling down my face

bright red checks and red eyes

he says he loves me

but I’m loving a lie