The fire of the seed is in her pose
upon the clipped lawn, alone
before the old white house
framed in by the great elms planted there
symmetrically. Exactly in the centre
of this gently sloping scene,
behind her table of squash and green
corn in a pile, facing the road
she sits with feet one by the other
straight and closely pressed
and knees held close, her hands
decorously folded in her lap. Precise
and mild before the vegetables,
the mouth poised in an even smile
of invitation - to come and buy,
the eyes alone appear - half wakened.
These are the lines of a flower-bud's
tight petals, thoughtfully
designed, the vegetable offerings
in a rite. Mutely the smooth globes
of the squash, the cornucopias
of the corn, fresh green, so still,
so aptly made, the whole so full
of peace and symmetry ...
resting contours of eagerness
and unrest -
William Carlos Williams