115. In Passing. Roy Helton. Modern American Poetry

Louis Untermeyer, ed. (1885–1977). Modern American Poetry. 1919.

Roy Helton. 1886–

115. In Passing

THROUGH the dim window, I could see
The little room—a sordid square
Of helter-skelter penury:
Piano, whatnot, splintered chair....

It is so small a room that I	5
Seemed almost at the woman's side:
Galled jade—too fat for vanity,
And far too frankly old for pride.

Her greasy apron 'round her waist;
The dish cloth by her on the chair;	10
As if in some wild headlong haste,
She has come in and settled there.

Grimly she bends her back and tries
To stab the keys, with heavy hand;
A child's first finger exercise	15
Before her on the music stand.