To an Adolescent Weeping Willow

Marvin Bell, 1937

I don’t know what you think you’re doing,
sweeping the ground. You
do it so easily, backhanded, forehanded.
You hardly bend. Really, you sway.

What can it mean
when a thing is so easy?

I threw dirt on my father’s floor.
Not dirt, but a chopped green
dirt which picked up dirt.

I pushed the push broom.
I oiled the wooden floor of the store.

He bent over and lifted the coal
into the coal stove. With the back of the shovel
he came down on the rat just topping the bin
and into the fire.

What do you think?—Did he sway?
Did he kiss a rock for luck?
Did he soak up water
and climb into light and turn and turn?

Did he weep and weep in the yard?

Yes, I think he did. Yes,
now I think he did.

So, Willow, you come sweep my floor.
I have no store.
I have a yard. A big yard.

I have a song to weep.
I have a cry.

You who rose up from the dirt,
because I put you there
and like to walk my head in under
your earliest feathery branches—
what can it mean
when a thing is so easy?

It means you are a boy.

Title:

Taking a look at the title for a first time, key words stick out to me. "To" tells me that this is a letter to someone. "Adolescent" lets me know that he is talking to a minor or someone or something young. Lastly "weeping willow" can mean the tree or comparing someone to a weeping willow. So, based on the title I believe the poem will be a poem to someone young who needs help because they are crying.

Paraphrase:

Line 1: "I don't know what you think you're doing". Why are you doing that?You know you should not be doing that. Line 2-3: "sweeping the ground.You do it do easily, backhanded, forehanded".You sweep the floor really well, whether it be forward or backwards. Line 4: "You hardly bend. Really, you sway". You sweep in a different way. There's a bounce to the way you sweep. Line 5: "What can it mean". How could this be possible? Line 6: "when a thing is so easy?". Why is this so easy for you? Line 7: I threw dirt on my father's floor". I purposefully put dirt on my dad's floor. Line 8: "Not dirt, but a chopped green". Not regular dirt, it was old chopped up food. Line 9: "dirt which picked up dirt". The old food just caused more dirt to come. Line 10: "I pushed the broom". I got the broom and started to push it. Line 11: "I oiled the wooden floor of the store". I put oil on the wooden floors of the shop. Line 12-13: "He bent over and lifted the coal into the coal stove. With the back of the shovel". He used a shovel to put the coal in the coal stove. Line 14: "he came down on the rat just topping the bin". He keeps adding more coal. Line 15: "and into the fire". Into the fire the coal went. Line 16: "What do you think?-Did he sway?". Did he also sway while doing this? Line 17: "Did he kiss a rick for luck?". Did he give the coal a good luck kiss? Line 18-19: "Did he soak up the water and climb into light and turn and turn?". Did he soak up water and grow? Line 20: "Did he weep and weep in the yard?". Did he cry for a long time in the yard? Line 21-22: "Yes, I think he did. Yes, now I think he did". Yes, I believe he did weep and weep. Line 23: "So, Willow, you come sweep my floor". So it is you who will sweep my floor? Line 24: "I have no store". I have no store for you to sweep. Line 25: "I have a yard, A big yard". But I have a very big yard for you. Line 26: "I have a song to weep". I have a song to cry, sing to you. Line 27: "I have a cry". I have a cry. Line 28: "You who rose up from the dirt". You came from dirt, now you are here. Line 29: "because I put you there". I made you, I brought you here. Line 30-31: "and like to walk my head under your earliest feathery branches-". I like to walk under you and your protective feathers. Line 32: "what can it mean". How could this be? Line 33: "when a thing is so easy?". It is so easy for you. Line 34: "It means you are a boy". It is because you are only a boy, so young.

Connotation:

As I read the poem over a few times I came to realize the boy in the poem is talking to a tree he planted. The whole in a sense is then noted as a metaphor because the boy makes the tree seem like a person. The author says "So, Willow, you come sweep my floor", Then later says, "It means you are a boy". He uses the metaphor to compare the tree to a boy. Throughout the story the author uses different terminology to give poem a positive feel. Words like sweep, grow, push, dirt. These words tell the journey the tree took o grow. One word sticks out when reading the poem and it is used repetitively, weep. The word weep brings about a positive connotation because it shows sensitivity throughout the story. The author creates imagery when he refers to the tree sweeping the floor. At first I thought someone was sweeping, but he means the tree is on the floor sweeping it as it blows back and forth because it has not fully grown yet. This connects to why he calls the tree a boy at the end of the story.

Attitude/Tone:

The author has a serious tone throughout the poem. You can tell he cares about the Weeping Willow and passionately wants it to grow. The author says "So, Willow, come sweep my floor. I have no store. I have a yard. A big yard". The author wants the willow to grow in his yard as he has seen done before. He wants to be with the Willow because he loves the tree he planted and he is very serious about. 

Shifts:

I do not believe there are any major shifts in the poem except for shifts in characters. I kind of picked up on the sense that there is a conversation going on with the boy and his dad in the story. The boy begins to ask questions and it is almost as if someone is answering them, but you never see a direct change in the speaker. Line 21-22 state "Did he weep and weep in the yard"? "Yes, I think he did". Some answered the questioned with a statement. So now I realize that the poem is shifting from a memory into modern day. I think the boy remembers when his dad has a Willow tree and he is talking with him about what the tree did and is trying to learn more about the tree. 

Title: 

Now that I have read and understand the poem, I see that the title exactly what I thought it was. The title is what it says, a boy is sending a letter to a young willow tree that he wants to grow bigger. The title has the same meaning figuratively and literally.

Theme

I believe the theme of the poem is to never give up. Even though it does not directly say anything about giving up or not giving up I feel it is figuratively interpreted. The boy talked about how the Willow was sweeping the floor, then later talked about how we wanted the Willow to grow. He never gave up on his Willow. This can connect to everyday humanity because I think everyone should never give up. The boy in the poem was persistent with the tree and that is how everyone should be about something they desire in real life.