It starts with laundry. Not a grand battle or a tragic death, but just a bunch of white sheets flapping on a clothesline in Rome. If you’ve ever woken up feeling like you’d rather stay in the dream world than face the Tuesday morning traffic, you already get the vibe of Richard Wilbur’s most famous poem. Love calls us to the things of this world is a mouthful of a title, but it’s basically the ultimate "snooze button" anthem. It’s about that weird, blurry moment between being asleep and being awake when the world feels almost too heavy to step back into.
Most people think poetry is just Flowery Language™ or something you analyze to death in a dusty classroom. But Wilbur was doing something different here. He was writing about the friction of being alive.
The Morning Struggle is Actually Spiritual
Imagine waking up and seeing laundry outside your window. To Wilbur, those sheets aren't just fabric; they look like angels. They’re "hollow" and "spiralling," and for a second, the speaker of the poem wants to stay right there in that angelic, effortless vision.
The soul, he says, is "hangar-like." It's big and empty and wants to float. But then comes the sun. Then comes the noise of the city. The poem shifted the way 1950s readers thought about daily chores. It wasn't about escaping reality to find God; it was about finding the "love" that drags you back down to the "things of this world"—even the messy ones.
Honestly, it’s a bit of a bummer at first. The poem describes the soul "descending" back into the body. It’s like putting on a heavy, wet wool coat. You don’t really want to do it, but you have to. Wilbur, who served in World War II and saw some truly horrific stuff in the 36th Infantry Division, knew a thing or two about the "heavy" parts of the world. He wasn't some naive optimist. He was a guy who survived the front lines and decided that, despite everything, the physical world was worth the trouble.
Why the Angels Have to Go
There’s this specific part where he talks about the "punctuative sun." It basically means the dream is over. The "angels" (the laundry) turn back into just... laundry.
We’ve all had that. You’re having a great dream where you’re rich or flying or your ex actually apologized, and then the iPhone alarm "Radar" starts blaring. That’s the "call" Wilbur is talking about. It’s not always a gentle call. Sometimes it’s a demand. He uses words like "bitter" to describe the soul coming back to the "darker irritability" of the morning.
But here’s the kicker: the poem ends with a blessing.
Love Calls Us to the Things of This World: The Hard Truth
You can’t stay in the clouds. Wilbur makes it clear that the soul needs the body to actually do anything. This is where he diverges from a lot of old-school religious poetry that says the physical world is "bad" or "sinful."
For Wilbur, the "things of this world" are the point.
- He mentions "the world’s hunks and colors."
- He talks about "the terrible speed" of life.
- He mentions "thieves" and "lovers."
He’s saying that if you want to experience love, you have to experience the grit. You have to put on your pants. You have to go to work. You have to deal with the "laundry" of existence. It’s a very grounded kind of spirituality.
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I remember reading an interview where Wilbur talked about his time in the war. He mentioned how he wrote poems in foxholes. When you’re surrounded by mud and death, a clean white sheet probably does look like an angel. That perspective changes everything. It’s not a poem written by a guy in a ivory tower; it’s written by a guy who knows exactly how "terrible" the world can be, yet chooses it anyway.
The Problem with Perfection
One thing people get wrong is thinking this poem is just "pretty." It’s actually kind of violent. The soul "shrinks" from the body. It’s a struggle. We like to pretend that "mindfulness" or "spirituality" is all about being calm, but Wilbur suggests it's more like a wrestling match.
The "angels" in the poem aren't sweet cherubs on a Hallmark card. They are "terrible" in their purity. They don't have to eat. They don't have to pay rent. They don't have to feel pain. Wilbur suggests that being a "pure spirit" would actually be kind of boring—or at least, it’s not what we’re meant for. We’re meant for the "heavy" stuff.
Breaking Down the "Difficult" Imagery
Okay, let’s get into the weeds for a second because Wilbur was a master of "Formalism." This wasn't the messy, beatnik poetry of Jack Kerouac or Allen Ginsberg that was popular at the time. Wilbur liked rhyme and meter. He liked structure.
Wait.
Why would a guy write a poem about "freedom" and "spirit" using such tight, organized rules?
Because the structure is the world. The poem’s form mimics the "things of this world" that hold us in place. Just like the soul is trapped in the body, the poetic thought is "trapped" in the meter. It’s genius, really.
- The "Awakening": The first half is airy, light, and full of vowels that feel like breathing.
- The "Descent": The language gets harder. Consonants start hitting like footsteps. "Gallows," "bed," "world."
- The "Acceptance": The ending brings it all together.
He mentions "the laundry's mended." That's such a small, boring detail, but it’s the heart of the poem. To mend something is to care for it. You don't mend something you don't love.
What Experts Say About Wilbur’s Vision
Literary critics like Randall Jarrell used to praise Wilbur’s "virtuosity," but some of his contemporaries thought he was too "polite." They wanted more angst. They wanted the "Howl" of the 50s.
But if you look closer, Wilbur’s work is incredibly gutsy. Choosing to find beauty in a world that just went through a global apocalypse (WWII) is a much harder "call" than just complaining about it.
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The title, love calls us to the things of this world, is actually a quote from St. Augustine. By using that, Wilbur is tapping into a massive history of thought about the "Two Cities"—the city of God and the city of Man. Wilbur basically says: "Hey, both are important, but you’re living in this one right now. So, get moving."
How to Actually Use This Perspective Today
We live in an "optimal" world. We have apps to track our sleep, apps to automate our chores, and social media filters to make our lives look like those "angels" Wilbur saw.
But we’re miserable.
Maybe it’s because we’re trying to stay in the "dream" part of the poem. We want the "hollow" and "spiralling" perfection of a curated Instagram feed, but we hate the "darker irritability" of the real world—the dishes, the awkward conversations, the aging body.
Wilbur’s poem suggests that the "love" isn't in the dream. The love is in the "call" back to reality.
Here’s how to apply Wilbur’s "Laundry Logic" to your life:
- Embrace the "Wet Wool" Moments: When life feels heavy or boring, recognize that this is the only place where "love" actually happens. You can't love a ghost. You can't love a dream. You love people who have "hunks and colors."
- Stop Waiting for Perfect Conditions: The speaker in the poem doesn't wait until he’s "ready" to wake up. The sun "punctuates" the sleep. Life happens whether you've had your coffee or not.
- Look for the "Angels" in the Mundane: Wilbur didn't see a miracle; he saw laundry. He just looked at it differently. Try looking at your commute or your grocery list as a "thing of this world" that you are privileged to be a part of.
The Controversy of the "Difficult" Ending
The very last lines are a bit strange. He talks about "the heaviest nuns" walking in their "dark habits."
People get confused here. Why nuns? Why "heaviest"?
Nuns are the ultimate symbol of the soul "calling" back to the world. They dedicate their lives to the spirit, but they do it through "works" in the physical world—teaching, nursing, cleaning. They are "heavy" because they carry the weight of their convictions. They wear "dark habits" (the clothes) which keep them grounded.
It’s a perfect image for the poem. It’s the balance of the spiritual and the physical.
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Actionable Steps: Bringing the Poetry Home
If you’re feeling burnt out or disconnected, don't just read the poem. Do what the poem says.
Step 1: Do a "Physical Audit"
Spend five minutes noticing things you usually ignore. The weight of your shoes. The texture of your desk. The "hunks and colors" of your room. Stop trying to transcend your life and start inhabiting it.
Step 2: Reframe a Chose
Pick a chore you hate—doing the dishes, taking out the trash, folding laundry. Instead of seeing it as a "waste of time," see it as a "thing of this world" that connects you to reality. It’s "mending" your environment.
Step 3: Read Wilbur Out Loud
Poetry isn't meant for the eyes; it’s meant for the throat. Read love calls us to the things of this world out loud. Feel the "terrible speed" of the lines. Notice how the rhythm changes when the soul hits the body. It’s a physical experience.
Step 4: Practice "The Descent"
Tomorrow morning, when you wake up and want to hide under the covers, acknowledge that feeling. Tell yourself, "The soul is shrinking from the body." Then, do it anyway. Put on the "wet wool" of the day.
Wilbur’s poem reminds us that the world is a mess, but it’s our mess. It’s the only place where love can actually exist. So, the next time you see laundry on a line, or just a pile of clothes on the "chair" in your bedroom, remember: it’s not just a mess. It’s a call.
Go answer it.
Summary of Key Insights
- Richard Wilbur wrote this poem to reconcile his wartime experiences with the beauty of everyday life.
- The "angels" are a metaphor for the laundry, representing the fleeting perfection of the dream state.
- The "things of this world" include the difficult, heavy, and irritable parts of life that we must accept to truly live.
- True spirituality isn't about escaping the world but "descending" into it with a sense of "love" and responsibility.
- The poem utilizes Formalist structures to mirror the constraints of physical reality.
Practical Next Steps
- Identify one "mundane" task today and treat it as a spiritual ritual.
- Focus on the physical sensations of your environment when you feel overwhelmed by digital stress.
- Use Wilbur’s concept of "mending" to repair a relationship or a physical object you’ve been neglecting.