The Great Figure was published in Williams’ collection, Sour Grapes (1921). He enjoyed collaborating with artists, such as Charles Demuth, who painted the accompanying artwork to enrich childrens’ connections with words, numbers, images.
The Great Figure
Charles Demuth, The figure 5 in gold, 1928
Among the rain
and lights
I saw the figure 5
in gold
on a red
firetruck
moving
with weight and urgency
tense
unheeded
to gong clangs
siren howls
and wheels rumbling
through the dark city.
