The Great Figure

The Great Figure by William Carlos Williams

Published in Sour Grapes (1921), it inspired a painting by Charles Demuth

Among the rain

and lights

I saw the figure 5

in gold

on a red

firetruck

moving

tense

unheeded

to gong clangs

siren howls

and wheels rumbling

through the dark city

This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1923. It may be copyrighted outside the U.S. (see Help:Public domain).