leading+citizens

When the speaker asks, “Why do I write today,” it suggests a moment of sorrow for the entire poem. The poem is sentimental because the speaker addresses certain concerns that he is emotionally captivated by. The speaker does not offer a resolution, but instead apologizes for their misfortunes. However, he does not feel sympathetic towards the “leading citizens,” though they remain significant in Williams’s poem. The speaker wants to emphasize the greatness of his sorrow by applying his callousness towards the higher class. There is nothing he finds appealing about them, and his only feeling towards the “leading citizens” is distain.