Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, DANSE RUSSE, by WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS



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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

DANSE RUSSE, by             Poem Explanation     Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: If when my wife is sleeping
Last Line: The happy genius of my household?
Subject(s): Family Life; Men; Solitude; Relatives; Loneliness


If when my wife is sleeping
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
against the yellow drawn shades, --

Who shall say I am not
the happy genius of my household?






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