430
PARTISAN REVIEW
II.
A washing hangs upon the line,
but it's not mine.
None of the things that I can see
belong to me.
The neighbor's got a radio with an aerial;
we got a little portable.
They got a lot of closet space;
we got a suitcase.
I say, "Le Roy, just how much are we owing?
Something I can't comprehend,
the more we got the more we spend. . . . "
He only answers, "Let's get going."
LeRoy, you're earning too much money now.
I sit and look at our back yard
and find it very hard
that
all
we got for
all
his dollars and cents
's a pile of bottles by the fence.
He's faithful and he's kind
but he sure has an inquiring mind.
He's seen a lot; he's bound to see the rest,
and if I protest
Le Roy will answer with a frown,
"Darling, when I earns I spends.
The world is wide; it still extends ...
I'm going to get a job in the next town."
LeRoy, you're earning too much money now.
Lullaby.
Adult and child
sink to their rest.
III.
At sea the big ship sinks and dies,
lead in its breast.
