Apr 04 2025
William Carlos Williams – It is difficult to get the news from poems
It is difficult to get the news (from Asphodel That Greeny Flower)
by William Carlos Williams
It is difficult
to get the news from poems
yet men die miserably every day
for lack
of what is found there.
— from The Collected Poems of William Carlos Williams: Volume II 1939-1962, by William Carlos Williams
/ Image by Brad Starkey /
I was recently reminded of this poem by the wonderful Kim Rosen, author of Saved by a Poem. I call it a poem, but it is actually an excerpt from a much longer poem, yet these few lines stand alone.
With so much uncertainty about us, with suffering on the rise, it is natural to amp up our anxieties in response, wanting to “make things right” but without really knowing what to do. It can become a cycle of fear and feeling betrayed, of loud words, louder thoughts, and halting action followed by inaction and numbness.
Poetry can seem unimportant, even frivolous.
These aren’t times for simple answers, but I would suggest that the answers are not found in keeping ourselves perpetually plugged in to the recitations of horrors and outrages fed to us through the headlines. We need to remain aware of what is happening in our world, yes, but the news is often not the best source of our news. The real news requires an act of awareness. And connection. Connection with our communities. Importantly, connection with the vulnerable and outliers in our society. Connection, most importantly, with ourselves. And with nature, which is always our home ground.
The more we nurture these forms of connection, the more we remember what is real and what is important. Through these connections we understand what is actually happening. We also get a better sense of what we can and should do about it. We are reminded that the most powerful actions are not always grand gestures on a global stage; instead, it is often our seemingly small acts of kindness and genuine connection that truly resonate in the world.
But it is never simply about action. Action without awareness is just movement. Awareness is the key. Seeing what is truly happening, the entire picture, the expanse and the overlooked valleys, this requires awareness. Knowing when to act, how to act, and when to simply glow in the world, this requires awareness.
What we call the news is not primarily a medium of full-bodied awareness. That is why, though it is difficult, we should do our best to get our news from poems.
It is difficult
to get the news from poems
yet men die miserably every day
for lack
of what is found there.
Sending love to you all!
[BOOK LIST REPEATING]
|
William Carlos Williams
US (1883 – 1963) Timeline |
Love your words Ivan! They too are calming and helpful 🙂 Giving perspective. Poetry is an important “inspiration” in our challenging times, even though sometimes seems frivolous to be writing poetry in the midst of a chaotic world… 🙂
in the words of pir elias amidon…”do the beautiful.”
the beautiful often lies in poetry.
Oh Ivan, thank you for this poem – so appropriate for these times we are living
through. William Carlos Williams poem is beautiful and so is The Thought for the Day.
It is so important for all of us to be grounded in the beauty of poetry and live our lives
in this way.