I love the
word just. It’s the
word I use when I’m explaining something I still haven’t figured out. It’s the
word I use when I don’t want to come off as the b-word (bossy). It’s the word that does
nothing, which is the reason why every writer will tell you not to use
this word.
I was
surprised to see this useless word appear in William’s poem “This is Just to
Say.” Why would a famed imagiste use abstract filler words like just and this in his poetry? In the poem, the speaker admits to eating someone else's plums and asks for forgiveness. Unlike the title (that acts as the first line of the poem) the confession is clear and shows no hesitation. The poem reads as if the speaker left a note on the kitchen table before leaving for the day. If the poem clearly explains the situation, then why include an imprecise title?
I relate
to the speaker, in that I can’t fully abandon the use of the word just. This idle word is a crutch of honesty. Just is a confession of vulnerability.
It bares honesty while admitting a lack of confidence. Writers eliminate this
word because they must be confident that language will carry the meaning. However,
the vagueness of just and this within the title give the poem
meaning. Somehow, Williams directly treats a moment of confession through
imprecise language. The title sets a tone of uncertainty that contrast the certainty of the poem. This tonal conflict is created through the differing choice in language. The title offers some type of defense, perhaps born out of uncertainty, for the plum crime. The pairing of a vague title and concrete description nuances the emotion, and thus the meaning, of the poem. William’s experiments with the ways a
“direct treatment of the thing” looks like by making hollow words create
meaning. With little, empty words, the poem critiques, or perhaps more positively, revises imagism while
operating within the poetic tradition.
While
William Carlos William’s reevaluates the usefulness of language, Wendell
Berry’s poetry commands a reevaluation of material value. The speaker of his
poem “Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front” explores the negative
consequences of loving material, monetary gain. Explicit imperatives structure
the manifesto. The speaker encourages the reader to pursue a life of long-term
investment with phrases such as: “Ask the questions that have no answers./
Invest in the millennium./ Plant sequoias.” Berry’s poem follows the manifesto
tradition in giving explicit meaning and commands. With this form, the reader is offered a new
perspective on living. While William’s poetry does not outline a philosophy of
living for the reader, his poetry does offer new perspectives on the function
of imaginative language.
Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front
Wendell Berry
Love the quick profit, the annual raise,
vacation with pay. Want more
of everything ready-made.
Be afraid
to know your neighbors and to die.
And you will have a window in your head.
Not even your future will be a mystery
any more. Your mind will be punched in a card
and shut away in a little drawer.
When they want you to buy something
they will call you. When they want you
to die for profit they will let you know.
So, friends, every day do something
that won't compute. Love the Lord.
Love the world. Work for nothing.
Take all that you have and be poor.
Love someone who does not deserve it.
Denounce the government and embrace
the flag. Hope to live in that free
republic for which it stands.
Give your approval to all you cannot
understand. Praise ignorance, for what man
has not encountered he has not destroyed.
Ask the questions that have no answers.
Invest in the millennium.
Plant sequoias.
Say that your main crop is the forest
that you did not plant,
that you will not live to harvest.
Say that the leaves are harvested
when they have rotted into the mold.
Call that profit. Prophesy such returns.
Put your faith in the two inches of humus
that will build under the trees
every thousand years.
Listen to carrion - put your ear
close, and hear the faint chattering
of the songs that are to come.
Expect the end of the world. Laugh.
Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful
though you have considered all the facts.
So long as women do not go cheap
for power, please women more than men.
Ask yourself: Will this satisfy
a woman satisfied to bear a child?
Will this disturb the sleep
of a woman near to giving birth?
Go with your love to the fields.
Lie down in the shade. Rest your head
in her lap. Swear allegiance
to what is nighest your thoughts.
As soon as the generals and the politicos
can predict the motions of your mind,
lose it. Leave it as a sign
to mark the false trail, the way
you didn't go. Be like the fox
who makes more tracks than necessary,
some in the wrong direction.
Practice resurrection.
