Sort of a Song by William Carlos Williams

First of all, awesome name. I bet his parents had fun with that. This poem doesn't flow as well as many others. It is broken in odd places. The title sets up the piece. It is "sort of". The ideas are not quite there immediately. The poem seems to be about writing and the writing process. Williams talks about words and their purpose in a written piece in the first stanza. The snake in that first stanza might represent something that could stop the creative process. By staying in its place, it could allow the words to be what they are meant to be. The second stanza is talking more about the outcome or the creation of the writing. It talks about how people and stones can be compared and likened through metaphor. I think saxifrage is a metaphor for words. This flower grows in very harsh mountainous climates and is very delicate. It is known to grow into and deepen cracks in rocks. I think Williams is saying that with his delicate words, he can crack people. That he can use words to write of and understand people.