C.K. Williams was an American poet born in 1936. He has been described as one of the most influential undistinguished poets of his generation. He published several collections of poems, translations, and more. His poetic lines are characteristically long and have been described as prose-like.
โFrom My Windowโ by C.K. Williams is a memorable poem about human suffering. It contrasts the difficulties two homeless men face with the speakerโs relative safety behind the glass of his window.ย
Spring: the first morning when that one true block of sweet, laminar,
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย complex scent arrives
from somewhere west and I keep coming to lean on the sill, glorying in
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย the end of the wretched winter.
‘Blades’ uncovers the impact of a racially chargedย childhood experience, delving into a child’s fears, and guiltย bewilderment.ย ย
When I was about eight, I once stabbed somebody, another kid, a little girl.
Iโd been hanging around in front of the supermarket near our house
and when she walked by, I let her have it, right in the gap between her shirt
โAlzheimer’s: The Wifeโ by C. K. Williams is a powerful and moving poem. In it, the poet depicts a woman suffering from Alzheimerโs and a few simple moments from her day.
She answers the bothersome telephone, takes the message,
forgets the message, forgets who called.
One of their daughters, her husband guesses: the one with the
dogs, the babies, the boy Jed?