Public-domain source text

Portent

by William Carlos Williams

From Standard Ebooks · standardebooks/william-carlos-williams_poetry

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!!

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This is a source transcription from Standard Ebooks, published in Past Poetry’s public-domain archive without line-by-line editorial notes. Public-domain source edition. Availability can vary by territory.

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