The most anthologized one, "The Red Wheelbarrow", is often referenced and even cited in an amazing TV Show, "Mr. Robot".
so much depends upon
a red wheel barrow
glazed with rain water
beside the white chickens.
- William Carlos Williams
---
so much depends
upon
a red wheel
barrow
glazed with rain
water
beside the white
chickens
---
>> I feel like I've learned a new black magic to describe complex and ambiguous thoughts with clarity and simplicity.
Care to elaborate ? I sense BS
it must be
of
some difficulty
in
formatting the lines,
especially
the blank lines,
but
the original poem
actually is:
=====================
The Red Wheelbarrow
==
so much depends
upon
a red wheel
barrow
glazed with rain
water
beside the white
chickens.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Red_Wheelbarrow
Well, personally, I guess a poem is a compound that tries to convey meanings through multiple modalities, especially the sound and the semantics in language, and sometimes the spaces and the mental images too...perhaps we could think of it as a Broadway musical, in which many different elements are combined in a harmonious presentation: the light, the stage, the costume, the sound, the music, the lyrics, and the acting -- and the timing for organizing all those elements is quite important too!
After thirty five years and an explanation from the poet's mouth, I rather like the poem and the poet, and hate that professor. Thankfully, I can't remember his name, though I can still see his smug mustache under his horn-rimmed glasses.
Also, it is one of the better examples of a type of visual/minimalist/free verse mid-20th century american poetry that is super approachable and understandable (read some of the Wallace Stevens stuff for the counter examples).
Plus, it is great for having "Wait, is this really a poem? What is a poem??" discussions in English 101 classes.
And, to be fair, if some random person wrote it, it would get almost no attention at all, but Williams really was a quite good poet. And while this little poem doesn't have much to it, what it has is nicely wrought.
Just my $0.02...