William Carlos Williams--The Young Housewife

William Carlos Williams (1883-1963) reads his poem 'The Young Housewife' for a Columbia Records 78 rpm disc in the series 'Pleasure Dome: an audible anthology of modern poetry read by its creators," May 20, 1949.

Poem originally appeared in WCW's highly influential 1923 poetry collection 'Spring and All.'

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.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• William Carlos Williams
• The Young Housewife
• poetry
• Spring and All
• literature
• modernism

[usnorac]

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