Pastoral

William Carlos Williams

The little sparrows Hop ingenuously About the pavement Quarreling With sharp voices Over those things That interest them. But we who are wiser Shut ourselves in On either hand And no one knows Whether we think good Or evil.                   Then again, The old man who goes about Gathering dog lime Walks in the gutter Without looking up And his tread Is more majestic than That of the Episcopal minister Approaching the pulpit Of a Sunday. These things Astonish me beyond words.            This poem is in the public domain. About This Poem   “Pastoral” was published in the magazine Others  (Volume 1, Number 2), in August of 1915.   William Carlos Williams was born in Rutherford, New Jersey, on September 17, 1883. A doctor as well as a major Imagist poet, Williams published several collections, including Spring and All (1923),Pictures from Brueghel and Other Poems (1962), and the five-volume epic Paterson (1963). He died in New Jersey on March 4, 1963.