Poem by William Carlos Williams

Portent

Red cradle of the night, 
     In you 
          The dusky child 
Sleeps fast till his might 
   Shall be piled 
Sinew on sinew. 

Red cradle of the night, 
   The dusky child 
Sleeping sits upright. 
   Lo how 
                    The winds blow now!
   He pillows back; 
The winds are again mild. 

When he stretches his arms out, 
Red cradle of the night, 
   The alarms shout 
From bare tree to tree, 
   Wild 
             In afright! 
Mighty shall he be, 
Red cradle of the night, 
   The dusky child!!

1. Crude Lament
2. A Portrait in Greys
3. Blizzard
4. Summer Song
5. The Fool’s Song

Robert Service Portent ("I plant my little plot of beans")

Print

1734 Views

Last Poems

To Russian version