Gubbinal

Wallace Stevens, 1923

 

That strange flower, the sun,

Is just what you say.

Have it your way.

 

The world is ugly,

And the people are sad.

 

That tuft of jungle feathers,

That animal eye,

Is just what you say.

 

That savage of fire,

That seed,

Have it your way.

 

The world is ugly,

And the people are sad.

 

The word gubbinal is a derivative of a slang word meaning dullard.  The speaker in this poem fools the fool, mocking the person who cannot see the beauty of the sun and the life upon which it shines.