some more WmCWms . . .

There is a woman in our town
walks rapidly, flat bellied

in worn slacks upon the street
where I saw her.

Neither short
nor tall, nor old nor young
her
. . face would attract no

adolescent. Grey eyes looked
straight before her.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Her
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . hair
was gathered simply behind the
ears under a shapeless hat.

Her
. . . . . hips were narrow, her
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .legs
thin and straight. She stopped

me in my tracks -- until I saw
her
. . . disappear in the crowd.

An inconspicuous decoration
made of sombre cloth,
meant
I think to be a flower, was
pinned flat to her
. . . . . . . . . .right

breast -- any woman might have
done the same to
say she was a woman and warn
us of her mood. Otherwise

she was dressed in male attire,
as much as to say to hell

with you. Her
. . . . . . . . . . . expression was
seious, her
. . . . . . . . feet were small.

And she was gone!

.. . . if I ever see you again
as I have sought you
daily without success

I'll speak to you, alas
too late! ask,
What are you doing on the

streets of Paterson? a
thousand questions:
Are you married? Have you any

children? And most important,
your NAME! which
of course she may not

give me -- though
I cannot conceive it
in such a lonely and

intelligent woman

William Carlos Williams
from Paterson:
Book Five (1958)