The Red Wheelbarrow by William Carlos Williams

The first time I encountered this poem was in senior year in high school for our poetry lesson. I didn't immediately get what the poem was trying to say, but there was something about it that I liked, and I couldn't quite forget it. The poem seemed so simple but full of potential for interpretation as well. As I was reading (and rereading..and rereading) it, I also wondered why so much depended upon the red wheelbarrow, why it was glazed with rain water and why the white chickens were there. The only way I could answer that question was with a cornucopia of situations and stories about the red wheelbarrow and its great destiny.