TWENTY-NINTH CATERWAUL
I sat on the curb at the corner
Just outside the saloon
Where politics rule and
Presidents are made and unmade.
Two men were discussing the War....
And when they were through, the conclusion
Was discussion untempered by argument....
Unconvinced I went on my way.
THIRTIETH CATERWAUL
All afternoon I sat in the shade
Of a hideous skyscraper
On the Avenue.
Women of all sorts went by
And their footgear and stockings
Were varied.
Skirts that our grandmothers used
To clothe five- and ten-year-old girlies
Revealed twelve inches of hose—
Nor the three-shade boots that shod them
Would help a Chinaman guess
The age of the wearers who proudly
Boasted this awful foundation....
And yet are most of the women
Sweet-souled and modest....
I polished my claws once again!
