The Great Figure BY WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS

Among the rain 

and lights 

I saw the figure 5 

in gold 

on a red 

firetruck 

moving 

tense 

unheeded 

to gong clangs 

siren howls 

and wheels rumbling 

through the dark city. 

I Saw the Figure 5 in Gold 1928, collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City