Response to "The Red Wheelbarrow"

"The Red Wheelbarrow"
by William Carlos Williams

so much depends
upon

a red wheel
barrow

glazed with rain
water

beside the white
chickens.

     I chose this poem because as soon as I read it I was transported back to middle or maybe high school when we read this poem as a class. I definitely remember there being a big uproar because many people didn't consider this to be a poem and didn't know what we were supposed to 'get' out of it. I've always loved the imagery and senses that can be experienced by the rich, albeit simple, words.
     The lack of capitalization and the sole period as a punctuation mark add to the simplicity of this poem. It makes me think of a simpler time in life, when many families kept a small garden and a few animals for food. The poem is like a photograph, a small snapshot of something much bigger.
     The line "so much depends" alludes to this bigger picture. What depends on the red wheel barrow? What does the wheel barrow look like? We know that it is "glazed with rain water," but I also like to imagine it rusted and a little wobbly like one from my childhood. The choice of "glazed" gives the image a shimmering and shiny quality. Since we know that it has rained, this poem allows me to smell fresh spring grass right after the rain. I also think of mud on my shoes and footprints and wheel barrow prints all through the yard. The wheel barrow is "beside the white chickens" which adds a little music (clucking and strutting through the dirt) to the poem. Chickens make a lot of noise and are quite beautiful, especially white chickens next to a red wheel barrow. The colors go together nicely.
     Although short, this poem does not lack. If I could breathe this poem, I would breathe in a lot of old memories. I could breathe in the sunshine, a soft breeze, the wet and muddy ground, and the sensation of a peaceful and simple day.