The Adoration of the Kings
by William Carlos Williams
From the Nativity
which I have already celebrated
the Babe in its Mother’s arms
the Wise Men in their stolen
splendor
and Joseph and the soldiery
attendant
with their incredulous faces
make a scene copied we’ll say
from the Italian masters
but with a difference
the mastery
of the painting
and the mind the resourceful mind
that governed the whole
the alert mind dissatisfied with
what it is asked to
and cannot do
accepted the story and painted
it in the brilliant
colors of the chronicler
the downcast eyes of the Virgin
as a work of art
for profound worship
by William Carlos Williams
From the Nativity
which I have already celebrated
the Babe in its Mother’s arms
the Wise Men in their stolen
splendor
and Joseph and the soldiery
attendant
with their incredulous faces
make a scene copied we’ll say
from the Italian masters
but with a difference
the mastery
of the painting
and the mind the resourceful mind
that governed the whole
the alert mind dissatisfied with
what it is asked to
and cannot do
accepted the story and painted
it in the brilliant
colors of the chronicler
the downcast eyes of the Virgin
as a work of art
for profound worship
4 comments:
as you can see williams says he has 'already celebrated' this painting- what he's referring to is actually a section from a much longer poem 'paterson'; the relevant section is from paterson v and here's a link to it;
http://encarta.msn.com/sidebar_1741502511/a_brueghel_nativity_by_william_carlos_williams.html
The link you posted doesn't work anymore, but I found an interesting critique of the passage you're talking about here:
http://impossibleobject.blogspot.com/2008_03_01_archive.html
Aha! I found it!
i hope you enjoyed paterson :)
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