In “Willow Poem”, William Carlos Williams uses line-breaks to reinforce the swirling
motion of nature. This poem presents the seasonal change from summer to autumn as it
depicts about falling willow leaves and the wind. The natural whirling movement is explored
through the arrangement of the poem. Williams chooses to break particular lines which
results in the alternating long and short lines all over the poem. It reflects the content as well
as the setting of the poem for the reason that the various ranges of each line are identical to
the fluctuating motion of the wind. An example of this can be found on the third line, which
states “from which no leaf has fallen nor” (3). Here, Williams decides to break the phrase
after “nor” which is “bitten by the sun” (4) to create the pause and to differ the length of both
lines. This pattern of line-breaks continues throughout the poem, such as in the ninth and
tenth line, Williams writes “as if loath to let go, / they are so cool, so drunk with” (9-10). In
addition, on the thirteenth line, the text refers to, “the last to let go and fall” (13), it illustrates
the image of leaves falling from the willow tree and swirls before they touch the ground.
