Charles Reznikoff





3
Beggar Woman
When I was four years old my mother led me to the park.
The spring sunshine was not too warm. The street was almost empty.
The witch in my fairy-book came walking along.
She stooped to fish some moldy grapes out of the gutter.

4
Railway Station at Cleveland
Under cloud on cloud the lake is black;
wheeling locomotives in the yard
pour their smoke into the crowded sky.

5
Drizzle
Between factories the grease coils along the river.
Tugs drag their guts of smoke, like beetle stepped on.