Red cradle of the night,
In you
The dusky child
Sleeps fast till his might
Shall be piled
Sinew on sinew.
Red cradle of the night,
The dusky child
Sleeping sits upright.
Lo how
The winds blow now!
He pillows back;
The winds are again mild.
When he stretches his arms out,
Red cradle of the night,
The alarms shout
From bare tree to tree,
Wild
In afright!
Mighty shall he be,
Red cradle of the night,
The dusky child!!
Credits
William Carlos Williams was an American poet and physician, writing across the early twentieth century and celebrated for grounding modernist verse in the rhythms and textures of everyday American life. "Portent" showcases his early fascination with mythic, elemental imagery — a striking contrast to the spare, domestic observations for which he is perhaps best known.
