Well, this thread has gotten me to pick up my collected Stevens and start working through it, start to finish. Already rewarding me, two poems in. I don't know if there is a deeper meaning to "Earthy Anecdote" beyond the imagery, but the imagery is just marvelous.
And I think "Invective Against Swans" is a clever and amusing satire of bad poetry, about as good as the genre gets, because it is interesting in its own right. I was initially surprised by his decision to place it second in
Harmonium, but on reflection I think it works: knowing what I know about the later Stevens, I think this poem's crows are a nice harbinger of the cold which Stevens sang so well. (I expand upon these thoughts
here.)