So Many Depend Upon...

The Red Wheelbarrow
William Carlos Williams

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so much depends
upon
a red wheel
barrow

glazed with rain
water

beside the white
chickens.



I remember when I first ended my love affair with poetry. I was in a literature class, and we were analyzing The Red Wheelbarrow by William Carlos Williams. I actually enjoyed the poem until the professor insisted that this was a poem about the importance of the proletariat (the wheelbarrow) and the false importance place on the bourgeoisie (the white chicken).

This morning, as I raced against the rapidly arming burglar alarm, I considered how much depends on the job I do. My students depend on it, the community I teach in depends on it, society as a whole depends on it, and so does my mortgage.

so much depends
upon
a diligent
teacher

drenched by
perseverance

beneath a
mountain of standards.