Louis Untermeyer, ed. (1885–1977). Modern American Poetry. 1919.
Arthur Davison Ficke18831945Portrait of an Old Woman
S
Stops, wavers and creeps on again;
Peers up with dim and questioning face,
Void of desire or doubt or pain.
Wherein there stirs no blood at all.
A hand, like bundled cornstalks, holds
The tatters of a faded shawl.
A knot jerks where were woman-hips;
A ropy throat sends writhing gasps
Up to the tight line of her lips.
She stands, unhuman, bleak, aghast:
An empty temple of the Lord
From which the jocund Lord has passed.
Whenceforth his flame, renewed and bright,
Shines stark upon these weathered brows
Abandoned to the final night.