William Williams... really? (Poetry Blogs)

"... not/ with the cold fire/ that closes round me this year."

This quote comes from William Carlos Williams' poem titled "The Widow's Lament in Springtime." I noticed the use of the oxymoron "cold fire" the first time I read the poem. I think the author uses the oxymoron because he wanted to portray the widow's feelings to resemble the intensity that a fire creates. He wants to clarify that it is a dark, sad, "cold" feeling this year, unlike the others. The oxymoron is parallel to "where the new grass/ flames at it has flamed/ often before" because of the theme of fire. The widow obviously had a positive relationship with her husband, especially in the springtime. I think it could be that this particular day or just a day in the spring was the date of her wedding anniversary. I enjoyed the addition of the widow's son to the poem. This made the poem a lot less depressing, knowing that she has a family to comfort her.