William Carlos Williams "Danse Russe"

William Carlos Williams, "Danse Russe"

If I when my wife is sleeping 

Who shall say I am not 

and the baby and Kathleen 

are sleeping 

and the sun is a flame-white disc 

in silken mists 

above shining trees,-- 

if I in my north room 

dance naked, grotesquely 

before my mirror 

waving my shirt round my head 

and singing softly to myself: 

"I am lonely, lonely. 

I was born to be lonely, 

I am best so!" 

If I admire my arms, my face, 

my shoulders, flanks, buttocks 

again the yellow drawn shades,--

the happy genius of my household?