Walk

No. 5, originally uploaded by niznoz.

The Great Figure
by William Carlos Williams

Among the rain
and lights
I saw a figure 5
in gold
on a red
fireturck
moving
tense
unheeded
to gong clangs
siren howls
and wheels rumbling
through the dark city.

As an illustration of William Carlos William's poem, with the exception of the figure 5 in gold, the above picture is pretty lousy. Even more so on the scene: the firemen seemed relaxed and deliberate. They had travelled, at a modest pace, only about 300 yards from the firehouse on 7th Avenue along Houston to Sullivan Street. None the less, I was slightly star-struck by the number 5 on the fire engine: "I saw you in a poem, just the other day."

# posted by nick @ 4:02 pm