Sort of a Blog Response

William Williams (quite a humorous name, in fact) has truly baffled and impressed me with his poem, "Sort of a Song." Here, I shall attempt deconstruction and reexamination.

"Let the snake wait under
his weed"

This seems simple enough: let the thing exist where it should exist. He seems to be setting up a direct comparison of the relation between the snake and his weed to the nature of writing.

"and the writing
be of words, slow and quick, sharp
to strike, quiet to wait
sleepless."

This is where confusion rears its ugly head. Since we're letting the snake exist in his habitat, we must be letting writing consist of its natural factor: words both slow and quick--words sharp to strike--words quiet to wait sleepless. Slow and quick seems clear, a possible reference to several literary ideas that involve pacing and diction. Sharp to strike, now I'm lost. Does he mean "sharp" as in "The better 'to strike' you with"? Or "sharp" as in "striking this will allow you to discover how sharp it is"? It seems the first would fit more cleanly. Words that are slow, quick, sharp, and quiet. Waiting sleepless, however, seems pretty clear: words are always 100% accessible.

The structure here is what has me truly impressed: it's as if the first idea completes the first stanza and leaves me blank space beneath it for reflection. Then, with an em dash of great importance, Williams cuts into my reflection with further poetry.

"--through metaphor to reconcile
the people and the stones."

I can only assume the subject to be writing. If that is true, these lines say that metaphor (a symbol here for figurative language, I think) allows writing to reconcile all things in this world, from the pebble to the human mind.

"Compose. (No ideas
but in things) Invent!"

The use of single word imperatives here is a brilliant call to action. "No ideas but in things" might mean only ideas that pertain to reality.

"Saxifrage is my flower that splits
the rocks."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saxifraga I cannot relate these ideas. However, splitting rocks is the first step to breaking ground and finding something valuable (?). Perhaps "Saxifrage" is the thought that helps Williams start in his composition process and he is suggesting that we each find our own Invention Starter.

When broken up, the poem seems to make a little bit more sense. I really wish I could talk to Williams.