The Gentle Man, Memory of April, Epitaph

Listen to:

The Gentle Man, Memory of April, Epitaph (:55)

by William Carlos Williams

performed by Bob Gonzalez, rhapsode

THE GENTLE MAN

  I feel the caress of my own fingers
  on my own neck as I place my collar
  and think pityingly
  of the kind women I have known.


MEMORY OF APRIL

  You say love is this, love is that:
  Poplar tassels, willow tendrils
  the wind and the rain comb,
  tinkle and drip, tinkle and drip--
  branches drifting apart. Hagh!
  Love has not even visited this country.


EPITAPH

  An old willow with hollow branches
  slowly swayed his few high bright tendrils
  and sang:

  Love is a young green willow
  shimmering at the bare wood's edge.