[Lyric] The young housewife 102 (William Carlos Williams)

The Young Housewife
by William Carlos Williams

At ten A.M. the young housewife
moves about in negligee behind
the wooden walls of her husband's house.
I pass solitary in my car.


Then again she comes to the curb
to call the ice-man, fish-man, and stands
shy, uncorseted, tucking in
stray ends of hair, and I compare her
to a fallen leaf.


The noiseless wheels of my car
rush with a crackling sound over
dried leaves as I bow and pass smiling