BINGO!

I think I have found the specific Bashō haiku that influenced WCW’s “Red Wheelbarrow” poem. Scholars have long since acknowledged the influence of haiku on the Imagist poets in general and the aesthetic of William Carlos Williams in particular. If I can find evidence that WCW knew this haiku by Bashō that would be the final nail in the coffin. The haiku in question is

Samazana no

koto omoidasu

sakura kana

So many things

come to mind—

cherry blossoms

Structurally the two poems are identical the only difference being the amount of detail that WCW gives us about the wheelbarrow and its setting. But otherwise they function identically as poems. I have thought for many years that the “So much depends” part of WCW’s poem was what kept it from being a haiku, but obviously I was wrong. Had he stopped after listing just the wheelbarrow there would be almost no difference between the two poems except that Bashō’s image is from the natural world and WCW’s is man made. Of course when he extended his image WCW gave himself more language to work with and his layout is genius—

upon

barrow

water

chickens

Just these four words which form the 2nd line of their respective stanzas are enough to let us identify the poem, but these three trochees form the rhythmic spine of the poem. The poem has 22 syllables, 11 in each half (6-5 & 5-6) which I would argue make it a bespoke form and not merely a Free Verse poem. Anyway, I will keep my eye out for that last piece of clinching evidence.