Answer: The answer is stark.
Explanation:
This excerpt is the final stanza of a poem called Spring and All written by William Carlos Williams. In general terms, in the poem there's a description of very gloomy and somber scenery on a winter day. However, towards the end of the fourth stanza, there is a change: Spring slowly makes its way. What the person describes is a desolate landscape but he is beginning to notice some hints of springtime. This turn from winter to spring does't happen immediately and this is where the answer to this question comes.
According to the Longman Dictionary, stark means "very plain in appearance, with little or no colour or decoration." This word in this last stanza of the poem has a negative connotation. It makes reference to the dying plants and their remains, a dull lifeless scenery in winter. The rest of the excerpt carries a positive connotation. Although there's no sudden growth of plants, there will be a slow transformation, where roots will be strong enough to awaken.
