Showing posts with label Danse Russe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Danse Russe. Show all posts

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Danse Russe (William Carlos Williams)

Another William Carlos Williams' poem: Danse Russe.

What I like about this poem is that it makes the unusual seems normal, explainable. Why is N dancing naked about the room? What does it matter? All other members of the house are asleep, it's N's secret. The poem is a shared secret. Huh. Not that N needs our ears. N is perfectly content with his actions and his conclusion: "Who shall say I am not/the happy genius of my household?" Of course he is, there is no space for rebuttal or response, the poem ends immediately after asking the question.

Favorite line: "if I in my north room/dance naked, grotesquely/before my mirror"